Sharp
by MemoryOfNothing
Summary: Some people only understand each other through the battles they have. Aatrox is the harbinger of war, but is there more to him than just a lust for bloodshed? Is Fiora more than just an arrogant duelist who cares of nothing other than her reputation? Aatrox x Fiora
1. Chapter 1

**Strife Bringer**

_War…_ Aatrox spoke under his breath, savoring the sound of the one word that brought him joy. He smiled, balling his left hand into a fist and popping each one of his knuckles. Beneath the frayed, black travelling cloak he wore, Aatrox turned his crimson eyes to gaze across the city that sprawled out before him. _Too peaceful…_ He immediately thought, a sour expression crossing his face. But the expression was quickly replaced by a smile again. _Things will change…_ he reminded himself, _Yes… things will change very soon_. Finally, Aatrox rose from his perch atop the towering wall that surrounded the Demacian capital city. He reached up, pulling the hood of his cloak lower across his face. Things were progressing too slow. War was coming too slow… and he, Aatrox, certainly did not want to wait for war. He wanted blood, and he wanted it now. Popping the knuckles in his right hand, Aatrox abruptly turned and descended from the wall, down to the ground below. A small grin briefly crossed his face as a mischievous plan to hasten the onset of war entered his mind. _Yes…_ Aatrox thought pensively _All it will take is the head of a Demacian politician… and a Noxian flag…_ Aatrox reached into a pouch at his waste, allowing his hands to close around the piece of cloth that lay inside. He already had a flag that he had stolen from Noxus a few days ago, now all he needed was a head…

Aatrox quietly slipped into one of the various crowded streets that led to the Demacian capital building. In the bustle of the lively city, no one bothered to look twice at his towering form, everyone was too caught up in their daily activities. Smiling to himself, Aatrox allowed his mind to drift and recall the actions that he had taken in the past days. Approximately one week ago, Aatrox had infiltrated Noxus; taking his initial steps to sow the seeds of conflict. It was simple really, all he did was paint a few walls with the blood of some Noxian guards and leave a small Demacian standard issue sword at the scene. Aatrox chuckled slightly as he recalled the next thing that happened. Upon finding the mutilated bodies of the guards and the sword, Noxus immediately claimed that Demacia had broken the rules set forth by the Institute of War and demanded that they have retribution for the crime. Of course Demacia denied all allegations and staunchly refused to meet any of Noxus' demands. At this point, the two nations were at each other's throats, neither side willing to compromise with the other. Aatrox smiled again. _Too easy… _He thought. Again, Aatrox smiled as he anticipated the conflict to come. Finally, Aatrox brought himself back into focus. His surroundings had changed drastically, no longer was he in the crowded city streets, he was now in the portion of the city where only the social elite could afford. Aatrox's lip curled slightly with disgust as he glanced at the spacious gardens and elegant mansions. The main part of the city had at least an element of chaos to it. Here, everything was simply far too serene; too _peaceful_. Quickening his pace, Aatrox moved swiftly through the district, trying to keep as low a profile as possible, although such a feat was significantly more difficult given the lack of distractions in the spacious streets. Abruptly, Aatrox felt the skin on the back of his neck prickle. Instinctively, he ducked into a nearby alleyway, heeding his body's reaction to danger. Seconds later, Aatrox could hear approaching footsteps and a woman's voice.

"No. And do _not_ ask me again. I will not be in the company of a weakling such as yourself." The woman's voice floated through the street. It was a strong, sharp voice, thickly accented in a way that Aatrox couldn't quite put a name to.

"But madam! It would be of great-"

"I SAID NO. Are your ears of no use? Or are they simply clogged with your own stupidity that you are unable to understand my words?" The woman interrupted arrogantly. The footsteps sounded faster as the woman increased her pace, trying to drop the individual that was pestering her. Finally, the woman hovered into view from the alleyway. She was young, mid twenties was Aatrox's guess. Her figure was thin and lithe, clearly well toned and muscled from years of physical conditioning.

"Lady Laurent, please just-"

Fiora stopped walking mid-stride and turned upon the suitor that was persistently following her. In one fluid motion, she brought up her left hand and clamped it down over the man's mouth.

"You have tried my patience enough today!" She snapped angrily as she brought her face dangerously close to the man's. Fiora released the man from her grip with a rough shove that sent him to the floor, landing hard on his posterior.

"I care not to see you ever again." Fiora spoke haughtily as she glared down upon the suitor with eyes as sharp as razors. The man whimpered in response before he finally turned and fled in the other direction. Fiora stood rooted in her position for a few seconds before she straightened herself and drew in a deep, calming breath. The action brought her face into full view from Aatrox's angle. Her brown hair, highlighted with a bright crimson, flowed loosely about her face forming an almost curtain like veil about her sharp eyes. Fiora drew in another deep breath before she opened her eyes again. Slowly, she turned to continue in the direction that she was originally travelling in. The action turned her gaze directly into the alleyway. Aatrox instantly ducked behind a large dumpster and swiftly moved towards the other end of the alley, wanting to avoid undesirable contact with other individuals. Unfortunately, the movement caught Fiora's eye. Immediately, she grit her teeth as her temper quickly spiked to a dangerously high level yet again. Fiora swiftly strode into the alleyway, intent on at least giving the individual that was eavesdropping from the shadows a piece of her mind. However, as she turned to peer behind the dumpster, only a pile of dust met her eyes. Surprised, Fiora straightened up and glanced around the area, wondering where the individual could have disappeared to. Again, she saw a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eyes. She turned her head, just in time to see the tails of Aatrox's cloak disappear behind the corner of the alleyway.

"Not even the courage to face me?" Fiora demanded angrily as she pursued Aatrox down the alleyway. That comment stung Aatrox's pride. Every inch within him wanted to turn and slaughter the woman following him, but Aatrox kept himself focused on his real objective. Even if he did kill the woman and used her as a tool to instigate war between Demacia and Noxus, there was no guarantee that she was an individual of high importance. Aatrox needed to be sure that the individual he killed would most certainly cause a war.

"Get back here peasant!" Fiora spoke again, her voice nearer than before. _She's gaining on me?_ Aatrox thought questioningly to himself as he turned another corner, trying to ditch his pursuer in the maze of alleys. Unfortunately, Fiora knew the entire city of Demacia as well as she knew the back of her hand. Rather than following Aatrox down the alley he had taken, Fiora turned, leapt over a low wall to her left and waited in the shadows. Unbeknownst to Aatrox, the path he had taken looped around and led straight to where Fiora was waiting. As Aatrox's footsteps approached, Fiora unsheathed her rapier and lunged out of the shadows. She clearly had no intention of hitting Aatrox, as her strike would have passed directly in front of Aatrox's throat. Fiora merely wanted to frighten the individual that was eavesdropping on her into never doing so again. However, being a seasoned warrior who had seen centuries of conflict, Aatrox's combat instincts instantly kicked in. The moment he saw the flash of steel from the shadows, he instinctively summoned his sword and deflected the piercing lunge. Immediately, Aatrox counterattacked with a downward strike. Fiora nimbly parried the blow and lashed out again at Aatrox's neck. Twisting away, Aatrox managed to avoid the strike, but the tip of Fiora's rapier ripped through the cloth on his hood. Aatrox quickly backed away as the hood fell slightly, briefly revealing his hellish face. Reaching up, he tugged the garment back into place. Furious, Aatrox scowled beneath his hood, angry at both himself for instinctively fighting, partially revealing who he was and also because he had been caught off guard. Curious after having a glimpse of a face, Fiora moved slowly in a semi-circle, trying to get a better view of Aatrox's face. He didn't comply. Instead, Fiora analyzed what she could see. The blade. It was a sword unlike any she had ever seen before. With three sharp serrated edges that tapered down to a sharp needle like tip, the blade appeared as though it _thirsted_ for blood. But more than that, the sword appeared to writhe and pulse, as though the blade itself were alive. Upon seeing her scrutinizing gaze, Aatrox backed away slowly, his desire to leave evident. Immediately, Fiora felt the edge of her lip curl with annoyance. He was clearly suppressing his desire to fight, she could see the burning desire for battle in the faint, blazing glow of his red eyes. More than that, however, Fiora was _fascinated_. A mysterious swordsman with enough skill and dexterity to counter _her_ speed? Such a thing had never occurred before, and she was definitely not about to pass up the opportunity to fight such an opponent. A sudden movement from Aatrox brought Fiora's attention back to reality. Without a further reason to hide his abilities, Aatrox leapt and glided onto the roof of the closest building. He glanced back, tentatively at the woman standing on the ground below him. Every cell in his body had the urge to engage in glorious combat, but Aatrox ground his teeth, resisting the urge as much as possible. Fiora, on the other hand, had no intention of letting the mysterious figure leave. But Fiora knew better than to chase after him again. There was no guarantee that he would be willing to turn back and fight her. Fiora wasn't a gambler; she worked with certainty and precision. Rather than follow Aatrox, Fiora leaned the weight of her body onto her left leg, and placed her left hand on her hip; a gesture of absolute comfort and nonchalance. Tilting her head slightly, she finally spoke:

"Running away?" Fiora taunted in a voice that was irresistibly arrogant. "And here I thought I had a challenge…" Fiora's words stabbed at Aatrox's pride, cutting deeply in a manner that was rarely ever done. Fiora couldn't help but smile as she watched Aatrox's grip about the hilt of his sword tighten with rage. She knew she had struck him when his knuckles turned white from the force he was putting on his blade. Finally, Aatrox gave in to his barbaric desire to fight. With a savage leap, Aatrox landed back on the ground across from Fiora, his eyes blazing with bloodlust. Fiora met his gaze with a smile of anticipation. Lightly, Fiora bounced on the balls of her feet before settling down in her classic duelist stance. Aatrox, on the other hand, didn't feel like waiting. Savagely, he roared and dashed towards the duelist, swinging his massive blade in a horizontal cleave. Fiora nimbly danced backwards, a hairs breath out of reach from the thirsty tip of the blade. She counterattacked immediately, lunging with a piercing stab at Aatrox's chest. Rather than parry the blade with his own sword, Aatrox used his right forearm to deflect the stab by placing his arm along the flat side of the rapier and shoving the sword away from him. The unconventional block surprised Fiora, but only for a nanosecond. Instead, Fiora attacked again, this time with a downward diagonal slash at Aatrox's open shoulder. Again, Aatrox surprised her by abruptly bringing his colossal blade thundering upwards. There was a resounding clang as Aatrox's sword made contact with Fiora's rapier. Aatrox had put so much force behind the strike that Fiora was knocked back slightly. Fiora immediately returned to her stance, fixing Aatrox with a scrutinizing gaze. The last clash was strange; under no circumstances should her opponent have been able to force her back. One, his blade was large, thus it should be slower. Two, she had downward momentum and gravity on her side. Yet, he wielded the blade as though it were as light as her rapier. Fiora finally came up with a possible conclusion when Aatrox brought a hand up to his face and wiped blood off of his lip. _So he uses his own life as a medium to increase the strength of his strikes_ Fiora thought.

"Fascinating." Fiora said aloud. She lowered her stance slightly and lunged again at Aatrox, this time with the intention of winning. Immediately, Aatrox felt the increase in pressure from the duelist before him. Backing up, Aatrox defended himsel, blocking and dodging her lightning fast blows as best he could. Finally, Fiora dashed at top speed, placing herself behind Aatrox. Before he could turn and block or counter, Fiora landed a precise slash directly in Aatrox's blind spot. Aatrox felt a slight burning sensation as Fiora's rapier met his flesh and made a clean incision on his right shoulder. Fiora stopped her assault and allowed her opponent to compose himself. To her surprise, however, her opponent's body language exhibited no sense of discomfort. Instead, when she looked into his hood, she could make out a wide grin plastered across his face. _Hmph_ Fiora breathed out as she lunged again. Again, Aatrox defended himself, but was wounded again when Fiora bested him with her superior speed. Still, he smiled. The process repeated another time, and another time with the same results. Fiora grew impatient. _She_ was winning, yet there was no hint of him _loosing_. Abruptly, Fiora decided to change her strategy. Rather than back off after a successful strike, she would continue until _he_ backed off. Fiora lunged again, attacking in a lightning quick succession of stabs and slices. Aatrox again blocked and parried, getting slightly wounded by blows that he couldn't deflect entirely. However, when Fiora neared the end of her attack string, Aatrox chose not to defend himself. Instead, he attacked with a frighteningly fast blow. Fiora felt her rapier stab directly into her opponent's chest. However, she was immediately forced to withdraw her strike in order to defend herself from Aatrox's own attack, thus reducing the severity of the blow she had landed. Fiora barely had enough time to raise her rapier and deflect Aatrox's counterattack. Again, the blow was incredibly heavy, causing Fiora to stagger slightly as the slash glanced off her blade. Aatrox seized the opening to begin his own string of attacks. Much to Fiora's surprise, Aatrox's attacks had increased in velocity and quantity while still maintaining the same strength. It was now Fiora's turn to be defensive. Nimbly, she skipped backwards, parrying and dodging Aatrox's deadly blows. Finally, she saw an opening. Dodging to the side, Fiora deflected one of Aatrox's slashes in the direction opposite to the side she moved. Immediately, Fiora brought her blade down in a diagonal slash across Aatrox's chest. Again, Aatrox could have deflected the blow and minimized damage, but he chose not to. Instantly, blood spattered on the floor from the heavy wound he sustained, but at the same time, he forcefully grabbed Fiora by the shoulder, immobilizing her. At the same time, he stabbed at her gut with his serrated blade. Immediately, Fiora's eyes dilated as adrenaline shot through her veins. Such a wound would most certainly be fatal. At the last possible second, Fiora used her rapier to deflect the stab, simultaneously twisting her body out of the way of the stab. Fiora let out a cry of pain as she felt the serrated edge of Aatrox's sword cut into the side of her body, damaging her ribs severely, but avoiding critical injury. Before Aatrox could strike again, Fiora swiftly brought her rapier down on Aatrox's outstretched right arm. Again, her blow cut deep into his flesh, causing blood to splatter on the floor and Aatrox to loosen his grip on her. Fiora jerked away from her opponent, breathing heavily and clutching at her bleeding side. Aatrox, on the other hand, was relentless. Despite his wounds, he attacked even faster and heavier. Fiora forced her damaged body to dance out of the way of the crushing strikes. Luckily, although Aatrox seemed to have gotten faster, he also appeared to have gotten sloppier. As Fiora skipped out of the way of strikes, Aatrox's blows made resounding crashes with the floor and walls around him, explosively causing dents and holes in the various objects he struck. Finally, he paused. Breathing heavily, he fixated the duelist with a blazing stare. His eyes conveyed a message that couldn't be described by words. A single, simple gaze, holding all of the fierce enjoyment, freedom, lust, and above all, respect for the opponent he fought. The two stood there, gazing at one another in silence until the moment was abruptly ruined by the thundering footsteps of approaching guards. Immediately, soldiers poured into the alleyway, blocking all exits and possible escape routes and forming a circle around the cloaked figure. Fiora suddenly found herself being pulled away from her opponent by a rough pair of hands. Instantly, her temper exploded.

"UNHAND ME PEASANT!" She snarled and lashed out furiously.

"We must tend to your injuries Lady Laurent" Came a stern reply. Fiora twisted her head slightly and gazed into Xin Zhao's eyes. He had good intentions, but Fiora didn't care. Shaking off his restraining arms, Fiora shouted:

"This is MY duel, cease your interference!" She snapped, eager to return to her battle. However, the soldiers refused to listen. They continued to close in on the cloaked figure. Needless to say, Aatrox was just as furious as FIora was, if not more so. Outnumbered, he quickly weighed his options. He could easily massacre each and every one of the soldiers here, but that would reveal his fighting style and potentially reveal his identity. Angrily, Aatrox again forced himself to resist the temptation of battle. Instead, he forced himself to do the most undignified action he could take. He fled. Crouching low, Aatrox leapt a phenomenal distance into the air before taking wing and soaring out into the open sky. As the distance between him and his opponent increased, Aatrox felt a strange longing tug at his chest an unsettling feeling that he had never felt before, but he pushed the feeling out of his mind, instead focusing on the countless number of objectives he had failed to complete in infiltrating Demacia. Aatrox snarled angrily, letting a breath of air pass through his gritted teeth. As he flew, he reached down into the pouch at his waist and produced a dagger and the stolen Noxian flag. Weighing the flag with the dagger, Aatrox hurled the cloth back at the guards in the alleyway. Aatrox continued his flight without looking back.

"That better suffice..." Aatrox muttered angrily as he suppressed his rage. Although he didn't look back, Aatrox could feel his opponent's eyes gazing after him. What he didn't know was that she too felt the same unsettling longing in her chest as he did.

* * *

Author's Note:

Hi everyone, hope you guys enjoyed the first chapter to this miniseries. I know Aatrox x Fiora seems like a little bit of a stretch to make, but I really feel like the two are more alike than they are different. More to come later, but hopefully this doesn't flop on its face.

Other news: I'm still working on the final installment to my series on Syndra and Irelia, but I'm in a bit of a rut as far as that story progression goes, so I'm taking a bit of a break from those two. If you guys like my writing style, check out my other stories!

Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**Predator or Prey**

Aatrox touched down in a forest to the north of Demacia. He was bleeding. A lot. Yet, Aatrox felt not the pain from his injuries, but rather the wounds in his pride and anger at his failed objectives. Lost in his thoughts, Aatrox walked through the woods until he came across a small pond. Seating himself down on a rock next to the water's edge, Aatrox cupped one of his hands and dipped it into the pond, taking a sip of the clear blue water. Leaning back, he contemplated his options. He could try to reinvade the city, but that would be significantly more difficult now that the guards were alert and searching for suspicious individuals. Aatrox felt his anger rise steadily as he realized how limited his options were. Unconciously, Aatrox balled up a fist and pounded it against the stone he was sitting on. _No…_ Aatrox thought. He wouldn't be the one to take action this time, he would have to be patient and see how Demacia played their hand. Aatrox scowled as he rose from his seat and moved deeper into the darkness of the forest. If his plans failed, Demacia and Noxus would both return to that institute. Aatrox almost spat the name aloud. _Institute of war?_ He thought_ What an insult…_

* * *

_Meanwhile in Demacia_

"Father! It is clear that the Noxians are guilty of provoking us, we _must_ prepare for the worst. Or better yet, we should strike preemptively, do not give them a chance to muster their full fighting force. Strike a decisive blow before there is a chance for them to retaliate!" Prince Jarvin exclaimed as he stood before his father. Garen nodded furiously in agreement with the plan. Both men appeared more eager to find a reason to strike at Noxus rather than actually find out who was behind the incident.

"Patience, my son, we must not jump to conclusions." King Jarvin replied with a pensive look on his face. He turned his head to gaze at Fiora who was standing near the back of the room as though he were waiting for her to speak. Fiora pretended not to notice until a few minutes had passed in awkward silence.

"Were you waiting for me?" Fiora asked snobbishly. She didn't wait for a reply before she continued "If you want my words, you should just ask." The duelist weighted the "k" in "ask", subtly conveying a mild tone of disrespect. Jarvin, Xin Zhao, and Garen all fidgited uncomfortably as they listened to Fiora's haughty tone.

"Fiora, please, he is the King-" Xin Zhao started, but King Jarvin silenced him with a slight lift of his hand.

"Lady Laurent, being the individual who confronted this individual, could you perhaps provide insight into who this individual is and perhaps what he was doing?" Jarvin inquired in a polite tone intended to placate and request information from the duelist. Fiora couldn't help but twitch slightly at the king's tone, a part of her wanted him to be rude in return just so she would have a reason to spite him. Alas, he did not.

"He's _not_ a Noxian." Fiora finally said confindently.

"But the flag!-" Garen started before Fiora immediately cut him off.

"A ruse." Fiora replied with an annoyed look on her face. "Why would an assassin deliberately drop a flag from their hometown? That would give away their affiliation, yes? This individual is _NOT _a Noxian."

"But who else-" Garen started up again before Fiora again interrupted him rudely.

"Listen, oaf!" Fiora snapped as her temper wore thin, "The man I fought was much too large, having a body too ungainly to meet the requirements set forth by those of Noxus."

"But!-"

"Will you just use your brain?!" Fiora snarled "Think. For just one minute. Katarina, Noxus' most famed assassin, she is small, nimble, lithe. Why? Because her size makes her harder to detect. Talon; also small, nimble, lithe. None of these assassins are known for brute physical force and yet you still think this individual is a Noxian assassin? He was tall, stronger than you, and ..." Fiora stopped herself before she revealed her opponent's skill with a blade. She didn't want anyone else aside from her taking an interest in fighting the unknown swordsman, Fiora wanted him all for herself. Exhaling, Fiora closed her eyes and recomposed herself before finishing. "He is no Noxian."

King Jarvin sighed and rested his chin in his right hand. After a moment, he turned and fixated Xin Zhao with an expectant gaze. Xin Zhao bowed slightly before speaking:

"I am in agreement with Lady Laurent's conclusions, my king. Although I only had limited contact with this individual, her description of this person seems accurate."

Again, the king sighed with a worried expression on his face. "But if not Noxus, then who?" He asked aloud ponderingly, "It seems that for all the questions we have answered, more questions fill their place." The king paused to take a breath before continuing, "Xin Zhao, I would like this individual found. Send out a scouting party with a tracking team. This individual couldn't have possibly gotten far from here. He or she is undoubtedly worn out from fighting our duelist." The king took a pointed look at Fiora before he finished his lengthy reply, "With that said, take precautions in capturing this individual. I would prefer the safety of my men over the capture of some rogue." The king allowed his voice to trail off, although he continued speaking, "To think that this individual could come out alive against our best single target fighter..."

As if on cue, Garen, Jarvin, and Xin Zhao all bowed to the king and turned to leave at the same time. Lost in her thoughts, Fiora barely tilted her head at the king before she followed the three Demacians out of the room. Beneath her impassive face, Fiora could feel the depths of her anger stir. The king's orders were exactly what she did _not_ want. The duelist quickened her pace as she swiftly strode back to her mansion. _He is MINE to fight... mine alone..._ Fiora muttered.

* * *

_One day later..._

"Over here sir!" one of the scouts shouted, waving at his superior officer. The lieutenant along with the rest of the scouting party immediately hurried over the scout. The party had just arrived at the pond where Aatrox had rested at barely twenty four hours before.

"What have you found soldier?" The lieutenant immediately asked the moment he was within speaking distance.

"Blood stain" the scout quipped in response.

"How old?" one of the other soldiers asked.

"I would say no more than a day" the scout replied as he rubbed the stain with a finger. It smeared easily, giving further evidence to its relatively fresh age.

"Alright, send a runner back to Demacia, let them know we are close." the lieutenant ordered. Turning around, he addressed the rest of the party.

"Fan out and search the area, keep within a safe distance of each other. Do not engage the target, if you find him, send a flare. Understood?"

"YES SIR!" came a unanimous shout. Immediately, the party dispersed, spreading out in separate directions to cover as much ground as quickly and efficiently as possible. The lieutenant, however, stayed by the edge of the pond. Kneeling down, he brought a hand down to run over the blood stain that covered a small surface of the rock in front of him. The sight unsettled him. Blood usually didn't stay this fresh for such a long period of time. The lieutenant was completely lost in deep thought when a shadow loomed over him from behind.

"Something to report?" The lieutenant asked without moving his eyes or hand from the stain on the rock.

"That blood..." A low, raspy voice spoke, "Do you like it?"

Immediately, the lieutenant froze. Slowly, he turned his head and fixated his eyes on the hulking demon standing behind him.

"B-b-b-!" The lieutenant stammered as he stared at Aatrox. The sun behind Aatrox obscured the details of his figure. Only his glowing red eyes could be seen. Whimpering, the lieutenant tried to crawl away from Aatrox. Glowering, Aatrox stooped down and snatched the man by the neck, hoisting him up into the air.

"I asked. Do you like it?" Aatrox demanded again in his quiet yet deadly voice.

"G-G-GO TO HELL!" The lieutenant finally managed to stammer in a shaky voice. Aatrox chuckled as a twisted grin grew on his face. As his laughter subsided, Aatrox finally spoke

"You first." Immediately, Aatrox summoned his serrated blade and plunged the sword straight into the man's gut. In response, the man screeched out in a deathly howl, screaming to the heavens as his life was ripped from his body. Aatrox dumped the bloodied corpse to the floor, laughing in ecstasy as the man's blood pooled on the ground around him. Within seconds, the remaining members of the scouting party returned to the pond.

"GET HIM!" One of the soldiers roared, while another soldier lit a flare and prepared to launch it into the sky. Before the soldier could toss the flare, Aatrox lunged at him with a speed that seemed impossible for his size. Aatrox bodily cleaved through the man's torso, ripping the unfortunate soldier into two separate halves. Death came so quickly that he couldn't even cry out as the life faded from his eyes. Upon seeing the gruesome fate that befell their fellow comrade, the other members of the scouting party immediately lost their will to fight. Some turned to flee, while others stood rooted, paralyzed in fear of their inevitable fate. None of that mattered to Aatrox though, he cared only for the crimson liquid that painted the floor in his brutally elegant dance of death. Standing up, Aatrox smiled widely as he gazed upon his helpless prey. _No survivors..._ he thought and advanced upon the soldiers.

* * *

_Hours later..._

The moment Fiora caught wind of Aatrox's potential location, she immediately left Demacia in search of her opponent. It was by complete chance that Fiora had caught the scouting party's runner and she wanted every advantage she could get when it came to being the first one to find the mysterious swordsman. Prying information from the exhausted messenger wasn't easy, but Fiora was not a woman who accepted defeat willingly. Besides, the messenger respected her well enough to give her his information without too much resistance. Fiora travelled light, carrying only the light armor she was already wearing, her rapier, and a small knapsack filled with a bottle of water and a meager meal. However, food and drink were the last thing on her mind. The only thought, or rather desire, that filled her body was her hunger to seek a worthy opponent.

As Fiora neared the location described by the runner, she could already smell the scent of blood and death in the air. Yet, the scent didn't alarm her, nor did it unsettle her. In fact, it only calmed her. Now, she knew for certain that her rival was here. Upon her arrival at the pond, Fiora's eyes were met with a scene painted in a grisly crimson. Corpses littered the small enclosure haphazardly. Scattered among the corpses were a number of daggers which Fiora immediately recognized as Noxian standard issue weaponry. She twitched slightly at the daggers. No dagger could inflict wounds of the magnitude present on the dead Demacian scouts. Turning to gaze upon the dead soldiers, Fiora noticed a small detail that further intrigued her. Dry. The corpses of the soldiers were brittle, withered as though they had been baking out under the sun for a long time. Yet, the freshness of the blood around the area clearly displayed that these corpses were indeed very fresh. _Their blood has been drained_ Fiora thought aloud almost quizzically. Abruptly, a hoarse voice spoke from the shadows behind her.

"Correct..." Aatrox said as he let out a breath of anticipation. Fiora was not surprised that she was right nor was she startled that Aatrox was behind her. Instead, she straightened herself and slowly drew her rapier from its scabbard at her hip. Finally, she turned around and gazed at Aatrox. He had removed the frayed travelling cloak that he previously wore, allowing her to have a clear view at his entire being. Despite his demonic appearance, Fiora was again surprisingly unfazed. Finally, Fiora spoke softly:

"Do _not_ hold back." She said sharply with a slight smile on her face. Fiora lowered herself into her classic stance and waited for Aatrox's response. He offered no words, only a twisted grin and eyes that burned with a desire for battle. Fiora gladly obliged.

* * *

Author's Notes:

My apologies for having such a long delay in releasing the second chapter to this series, I was visiting family for the past week and did not have very much time to put work into my writings. Expect a more regular release schedule now that I am back. As usual, thank you for reading and please review if you have pointers for me.


	3. Chapter 3

**Unkindly Intrusion**

Fiora breathed heavily, her heart beat steadily in her chest as she nimbly toyed with death in an elegant dance of clashing steel. Three hours had passed since both Aatrox and Fiora had resumed their duel, neither was giving any ground. Nearing exhaustion, the pair finally brought their blades into a resounding clash. Their weapons locked together as both fighters resolutely refused to give way to the other. Defiantly, they stared into each other's eyes as though they were speaking a silent language that only they could understand. Finally, both warriors broke the contact between their blades and backed away an equal distance until a safe distance of five meters was between them. Fiora lowered her rapier slightly and heaved a heavy breath of air, trying to calm her body's protest against further strenuous action. Drenched in sweat, Fiora brought her free hand to her face and brushed her hair aside, breaking its clingy grip on her forehead. Across from her, Aatrox roughly smeared the streaks of blood and sweat from one his right shoulder. Again, the two stared at each other in silence, neither one speaking, neither one moving aggressively towards the other. It was evident that both were exhausted from hours of prolonged swordplay. Finally, Fiora straightened herself and broke the silence:

"Perhaps..." She breathed out "that is enough for today." Aatrox offered no words in reply, but dispelled his blade into a puff of red mist in silent agreement. Sheathing her rapier, Fiora let out a small groan as she reached her hands to the sky and stretched. Finally, she brought her arms back down and swiftly strode over to the small knapsack she had brought with her. Producing a small bottle of water from the bag, Fiora took a sip of the clear liquid within. Then, closing her eyes, she lifted the bottle and emptied the rest of the water on her forehead, allowing the liquid to rush down her face and cool her. Aatrox watched in silence, gazing upon the duelist with an unwavering stare. It was curious really, his opponent, who was usually elegantly precise, using such a crude behavior to cool herself. Slowly, the water trickled down Fiora's body, causing her uniform to quickly absorb the liquid. As a side effect, the material clung relentlessly to Fiora's body, further accentuating her already flawless form. Aatrox didn't realize he was staring at the duelist until Fiora peeked at him through the corner of an eye and abruptly spoke:

"What?!" She snapped haughtily "Want to fight more?"

Aatrox immediately broke eye contact and turned away. Somewhat flustered, Aatrox started walking away at a brisk pace. As he did so, he couldn't help but feel the weight of Fiora's gaze boring into his back. Silently, Aatrox's face twisted into a scowl. _Why is this so uncomfortable... _He snarled to himself with evident annoyance as he quickened his pace, trying to break free of Fiora's prying gaze. Unfortunately, fate was not merciful enough to spare Aatrox an escape. As Aatrox neared the edge of the forest around the pond, a loud screech of an exotic bird sounded from above him. Looking up, Aatrox caught a glimpse of a blue feathered eagle circling above him. _They are here! _Aatrox's subconscious told him. Within an instant, Aatrox analyzed the situation and his possible courses of action. There were only two viable ones: escape through the forest or turn and face his pursuers. Ordinarily, Aatrox would have just disappeared into the protective shadows of the forest, but this time was different. Aatrox felt a tug in his chest as he turned back and glanced at the duelist. Fiora was relatively oblivious, simply taking deep breaths of air as she sat hunched over on a log near the pond's edge. Glancing up again, Aatrox caught another look of the eagle circling above. If he left now, they would find his opponent. Undoubtedly, her proximity to him and her lack of action against him would bring her under suspicion from her people. Aatrox felt his frustration skyrocket uncontrollably. Why was he thinking about her or even considering what would happen to her? He didn't even know her, why should he even care what happened to her? WHY!? Abruptly and irrationally, Aatrox turned around and advanced upon the resting duelist. With a warlike roar, he summoned his blade into existence and took a lunging cleave at Fiora. Fiora noticed him coming from a mile away and easily dodged his attack, or rather tilted her head to avoid the attack. Aatrox's blade passed several inches above Fiora's head, clearly holding no intention of hitting her in any way. However as the blade passed over her head, Fiora's eyes locked onto Aatrox's crimson gaze. Immediately, she read the emotions exhibited in his eyes. Not bloodlust, not a desire to fight, not a desire to harm; his gaze only held a desire to _protect_. Fiora said nothing, but her expression clearly exhibited a gaze of mild concern. Aatrox offered no words in answer to her, but instead attacked again relentlessly. Drawing her rapier, Fiora easily blocked and deflected the strikes Aatrox tossed at her. Again, she quickly noted that her opponent was clearly not trying to win, nor was he trying to harm her in any way. Still, his eyes held a clear desire to protect something. It wasn't until Fiora heard the footsteps of approaching soldiers and a particularly loud roar that she realized what Aatrox was doing. He wasn't protecting himself or some other hidden objective, he was protecting _her._

"DEMACIA!" Garen roared as he surged forth from the group of soldiers and leapt at Aatrox with a mighty cleave. Aatrox easily avoided the swing with a small backstep. However, it quickly became clear that Garen never intended to hit Aatrox with that strike. Instead, he turned around, wrapped an arm around Fiora's stomach, and quickly dashed a safe distance away from Aatrox. Startled by Garen's sudden intrusion and his relatively rude action of grabbing her about the waist, Fiora almost lashed out at Garen with her rapier. However, before she could do so, Garen quickly set her down.

"Are you alright, Lady Laurent?" Xin Zhao inquired as he and Quinn caught up to the pair. Fiora's furious reply was muted out by another loud roar from Garen:

"CHARGE!" Garen bellowed as he motioned for the scouting party to overwhelm Aatrox. The Demacian soldiers then roared and advanced rapidly towards Aatrox. Aatrox didn't bother waiting for them to arrive, instead, he rushed headlong into the mass of soldiers. The darkin bodily bulled into the foremost soldier, sending the poor man flying into his allies behind him. Continuing his momentum, Aatrox continued shoving soldiers into each other until he was completely surrounded by Demacian forces. It was exactly where he wanted to be. Flexing his all of the muscles in his arms, Aatrox focused brought forth the core of his power; blood. Immediately, Aatrox's body began emanating a ghastly red glow. Before any of the soldiers could move, Aatrox stabbed his sword into the sky, drawing upon the blood of those around him. The soldiers nearest Aatrox instantly screeched in agony as their blood erupted from their veins and surged into Aatrox's blade. Thirstily, the blade drank the blood, rapidly growing in size. As the soldiers around him collapsed to the floor, writhing in agony, Aatrox mercilessly brought his blade through their flesh, instantly ending their lives. Although they were shocked at his brutality, the rest of the Demacian soldiers refused to give into their fear. Instead, they all simultaneously attacked Aatrox in a coordinated assault. Aatrox was slashed and stabbed repeatedly as several of the soldiers attacked his open back. Yet, he showed no signs of slowing down. Instead, Aatrox rammed his massive blade into the gut of the nearest soldier, impaling the unfortunate soldier on his serrated blade. He then ripped the sword upwards, cleaving through the man's chest cavity and ending his life in a spectacular shower of blood. Aatrox then turned and swung barbarically at a soldier that was attacking his back. The soldier wisely brought up his shield to protect himself against the swing, but it was far from enough to defend against Aatrox's strength. With inhuman strength, Aatrox completely shattered the shield, continuing the slash and slicing the man into two clean halves. Despite his wounds, Aatrox only grew stronger as more and more of his enemy's blood was spilled. Rampaging, Aatrox carved through anything and everything in his path until finally his frenzy ended with all of the soldiers lying dead or dying in pools of blood. Breathing heavily, Aatrox turned his bloodthirsty gaze to the last three soldiers left standing. Garen, Quinn, and Xin Zhao slowly fanned out, taking a three pronged position to face Aatrox. Impatient and filled with bloodlust, Aatrox immediately dived at Garen who was the closest target to him. Instantly, Aatrox besieged the robust man with a flurry of thunderous blows. Garen backed up as Aatrox pressured him relentlessly, blocking with his great sword and shifting his body in different directions so that Aatrox's blows would glance off of him with as minimal damage as possible. Using Aatrox's occupation with Garen to her advantage, Quinn took a well placed shot at Aatrox's open back. The bolt imbedded itself in Aatrox's back, drawing blood. Yet, Aatrox showed no signs of discomfort or desire to turn his attention away from Garen. Quinn backed off slightly, trying to get a better angle that would held the least risk of harming a friendly target. It wasn't until Xin Zhao leapt at Aatrox with a horizontal slash that Aatrox finally broke his assault on Garen. Turning to Xin Zhao, Aatrox unconventionally head butted the spear-man, briefly stunning him before sending him to the floor with a kick to his stomach. Then, sidestepping a downward cleave from Garen, Aatrox whirled and socked Garen in the stomach with a heavy punch, causing the man to collapse to the floor temporarily winded. Finally, Aatrox took to the sky and dived upon Quinn. Nimbly, she rolled out of the way and sent a volley of bolts at Aatrox. Deflecting the bolts out of his way, Aatrox lunged at Quinn, narrowly missing a deadly cleave at her neck. With barely enough time to recover, Quinn shouted:

"NOW, VAL!" Instantly, Quinn's eagle dived out of the sky and clawed at Aatrox's face, temporarily disorienting him in a flurry of feathers and talons. Quinn took advantage of the distraction to kick Aatrox away from her and at the same time propel herself a safe distance from Aatrox's range.

"NOW XIN!" Garen yelled as he recovered his breath. Xin Zhao offered a heroic war shout in response as the dived upon Aatrox with a swing that held all of his strength. Aatrox blocked the strike with his own blade, but was tossed several meters back from the force of the blow. In attempt to restore his footing, Aatrox plunged his blade into the ground, gouging a crevice in the earth as both he and his blade came to a screeching halt. Before he could recover though, Aatrox heard a resounding roar:

"DDDEEEEMAAACIIIIIAAAAAAA!" Garen roared as he plunged his sword into the ground. Instantly, the blade glowed with a bright light as Garen channeled his might through the blade. In response, a massive magic sword materialized in the air above Aatrox.

"HEEEYAAAAA!" Garen again roared as he gestured with a hand and brought the magic sword down upon Aatrox. There was an eruption of dust and debris as the sword plunged into the earth and detonated with an ear shattering explosion. Without enough time to dodge the attack, Aatrox could only brace for the impact of the explosion. Although he was incredibly tough, Aatrox was crushed beneath the strength of explosive attack. When the dust settled, the three Demacians peered into the crater that had formed as a result of the strike. At the center of the crater lay the collapsed, unconscious form of their demonic opponent; bloodied and battered, but definitely still alive.


	4. Chapter 4

**Locked Away**

Prison? Aatrox was unfamiliar with the word and the place. Never before had he been captured and placed within the confines of a steel cage. There wasn't anything in his cell aside from a bed, not even a window for him to gaze out into the open sky. The dungeon was cold and dark, lit by only a few torches scattered about the area. Not that Aatrox minded any of that, he actually preferred this setting over an excessively bright one. Aatrox rolled over on the uncomfortable bed so that his back faced the doorway to his cell. Ordinarily, Aatrox would have easily torn his way out of the prison with brute force, but after losing so much blood in the battles he fought the day before, he was far too deprived of blood and energy to force his way out. Time was what he needed. Time to recover and store enough energy. However before Aatrox could contemplate further options, his ears were met with the sound of approaching footsteps. The steps were swift and light, yet they struck the ground with an authorities _clack_. _Heeled boots_ Aatrox thought subconsciously without turning around. The footsteps stopped at what sounded like a few feet away from the front of his cell. Aatrox feigned sleep, wanting to see if such an action would prevent his visitor from bothering him. After a few seconds, the footsteps sounded again, walking away from his cell. Then there was a sharp dragging sound. _Getting a chair_ Aatrox thought again, maintaining his fake sleep. The grinding sound stopped a few feet from the front of his cell followed by a soft padded sound as the individual dragging the chair set herself down on its surface. Even with his back to his visitor, Aatrox could feel a familiar gaze boring into his back. It unsettled him, just like it did before. From her position on the chair, Fiora leaned back, crossing her arms and legs and tilting her head slightly as she waited impatiently for Aatrox to turn and face her. Still, he stayed stalk still, maintaining his feigned sleep. _Tch_ Fiora sounded with annoyance before she finally spoke:

"Acting doesn't suit you." Fiora said sharply using her words as provocatively as possible. From his position, Aatrox shifted slightly as Fiora's words sliced and stabbed at him. He debated trying to maintain his charade, but decided that such an action would be futile. Finally, Aatrox begrudgingly dragged his body into a sitting position and gazed upon the duelist before him. Fiora had changed into a fresh light blue and white uniform that was embroidered with a gold lining. Per usual, it was both visually pleasing and functionally efficient. Bringing his eyes up to Fiora's face, he met her gaze. The two sat staring at each other in silence until the corner of Fiora's mouth quirked upwards. Aatrox broke eye contact immediately, puzzled that she was actually smiling at him. A part of him was expecting her to regard him with horror or to the very least, disdain. He was by no means a particularly attractive individual, or at least Aatrox didn't consider himself attractive. In fact, Aatrox didn't consider attractiveness important at all. Yet why was he thinking about attractiveness now? Aatrox breathed out sharply through his nose. Behind his impassive facial expression, Aatrox was fuming with anger, wondering why he was behaving so strangely. Fiora didn't break her baleful stare at Aatrox as he fought his internal struggle. She merely continued boring a hole into him with her piercing gaze. Noticing Fiora's gaze after a few seconds, Aatrox fidgeted and shifted uncomfortably, somehow feeling naked and vulnerable beneath her gaze. Abruptly, Fiora chuckled as she observed Aatrox's discomfort, prompting Aatrox to shoot her a bitter glare. Finally, Fiora broke the silence between them:

"Who are you?" Fiora inquired somewhat demandingly, sounding extremely interested in him "And... where are you from..."

Aatrox conveniently pretended to not hear her first question, but muttered a muted reply in response to the second:

"Noxus..." He whispered in his coarse, low voice. Fiora twitched slightly in annoyance upon hearing his reply. Not only did he ignore her first question, but he had obviously lied in response to the second. Leaning forward, Fiora unfolded her arms and rested her right elbow on her knee, using her palm to support her chin so that she could have a closer look at Aatrox without moving out of the chair.

"I dislike liars." Fiora stated flatly as she stared at Aatrox. He offered no words in response.

"Fine then, I will _tell_ you why you are no Noxian." Fiora continued, eyeing Aatrox to see if she had caused him further discomfort by being correct. There was none.

"Firstly, there are no records of an individual such as yourself being seen in the ranks of Noxus. Second, your form and size make you a poor choice for any particular assassin. Not to mention your style is one of a swordsman, _not_ an assassin." Before Fiora could provide further evidence, Aatrox interrupted her.

"Assassins are best when they are nameless and unknown."

Fiora twitched slightly as her temper skyrocketed dangerously. It was a suitable lie of course, but it was a lie no less. Fiora leaned back in her chair and folded her arms again before speaking.

"Then why is it... that you are so eager to prove your affiliation with Noxus? An assassin would keep his affiliations a secret for as long as possible, no?" FIora smiled knowing that her victory was near, but Aatrox thought otherwise.

"Perhaps my affiliation is supposed to be known, you have not a clue as to what my goal is." Aatrox countered darkly. Fiora's temper skyrocketed even further. Her opponent was proving to be a larger challenge than she had expected. Angry, annoyed, and impatient, Fiora decided to take a rare gamble.

"Well then" Fiora spoke in a cockily light tone, "If you are a Noxian, then you will know the name of General Swain's right hand man's brother. He _is_ rather famous after all, yes?"

Fiora's gamble proved to be well worth the risk. Aatrox balked immediately, surprised and taken aback by her uncharacteristic gamble. Indeed, he did not know the answer to her question. He didn't even know the name of General Swain's right hand man. After all, all Aatrox bothered to care about was that the two countries fought each other. Aatrox's mouth opened slightly, but closed immediately without any words being spoken. As Aatrox failed to voice an answer, Fiora grinned widely and laughed winningly in arrogant victory. Aatrox couldn't help but sigh in defeat. _A duelist in everything..._ Aatrox thought to himself as he watched Fiora enjoy her victory. Finally, Fiora's laughter subsided and she returned her gaze back to Aatrox. She didn't seem angry or annoyed anymore, in fact, quite the opposite. Her cool blue eyes, held a sparkle of enjoyment and fun. Wanting to continue the conversation, Fiora spoke up again.

"Do you know who I am?" She questioned. Her tone held no evidence of a desire to pry information off of Aatrox, only a mild curiosity.

"Laurent..." Aatrox replied promptly, guessing that the name he had heard back in the alleyway was her name. Fiora twitched slightly as annoyance briefly crossed her face. It was almost as though she herself was dissatisfied with having such a family name.

"Fiora." She corrected him, exquisitely rolling the "r" in her name with her thick accent. "The undisputedly greatest duelist in _all_ of Demacia." Aatrox chuckled slightly at that, it was a rather blatant grab at reputation and status.

"Then you have spared me the trouble of seeking more opponents." Aatrox finally replied as his laughter subsided.

Abruptly, Fiora was unsettled by the comment. Ordinarily, she would have brushed the comment aside without so much as a blink, yet this time, she actually felt _flattered_ by the indirect comment. Fiora shifted uncomfortably in her chair. _Was it always this temperature in here?_ She wondered as her face blushed slightly. Thankfully, Aatrox was too oblivious or perhaps too uncultured to recognize Fiora's discomfort. Clearing her throat, Fiora returned her gaze to Aatrox and spoke again.

"I have introduced myself. Surely you will do the same?" Fiora questioned lightly. Aatrox glanced at her before moving his stare to her feet. Her tone was undemanding, holding only an air of curiosity and interest. However, just as Aatrox opened his mouth to reply, he was interrupted by a loud bang and a pair of rapidly approaching footsteps. Seconds later, Garen burst into the dungeon and loudly asked:

"Lady Laurent? What are you... Never mind, have you learned anything from him?" Garen questioned trying to conceal his surprise. Fiora's light-hearted air dissipated immediately, replaced by one of significant annoyance.

"He is not the Noxian _you_ are looking for." She replied, making an attempt to sound as rude as possible. She glanced at Aatrox, who met her gaze with a puzzled look. Behind his surprise, however, Fiora could tell he was mildly upset that she could so easily see through the ruse he was creating. Garen, on the other hand, remained ignorant of the glances Fiora and Aatrox shot each other.

"So the threat is still at large then..." Garen concluded with a concerned look on his face.

"Very much true, I am afraid, Garen." Xin Zhao replied as he entered the dungeon. "However, fate does not shine brightly for this... demon... yet... He is still guilty of murdering several of our finest soldiers."

"HAH!" Fiora laughed shortly and abruptly before she offered her own reply "And any individual would defend himself as necessary if he were attacked.

Xin Zhao shuffled uncomfortably and glanced at Garen. Although Fiora had presented a valid argument, both men had a hard time convincing themselves that Aatrox was actually innocent. He simply looked far too monstrous to be a victim of anything.

"Well... Uhm... We must be on our way then. I trust you to notify us if you discover anything Lady Laurent." Xin Zhao concluded as he turned to Garen and motioned towards the door. Fiora nodded curtly in response to his words, but offered nothing else in reply. Minutes passed in silence until Aatrox cleared his throat and finally spoke one single word.

"Why?" The Darkin whispered in a voice that was barely audible. Fiora turned back to him and met his eyes briefly before looking away.

"Returning a favor... I suppose..." She finally replied with a muted shrug. In all honesty, Fiora never had any urge or desire to lie on behalf of anyone else before, not even for the few people she owed small favors to. Abruptly, the duelist stood up from her seat on the chair and swiftly returned the chair back to its position against a nearby wall. As she passed by Aatrox's cell, however, Aatrox quickly reached through the bars and caught her by the wrist in a surprisingly gentle grip. The moment the two made contact, FIora felt her heart leap into her throat; an unconscious response either to her surprise or perhaps something else. Turning, Fiora looked down at her the demon clinging to her wrist. Aatrox didn't meet her gaze. Instead, he spoke in a hoarse whisper.

"Aatrox..." He took a breath before continuing, "My name is Aatrox..." He then promptly released his grip on Fiora's wrist. The duelist folded her arms and turned to face Aatrox with her entire body.

"Aatrox." Fiora repeated after him, rolling the "r" in his name as she typically did with her thick accent. Aatrox glanced up briefly to catch a fleeting smile cross Fiora's face before she turned away and moved swiftly out of the dungeon, slamming the door shut with an strong bang. The moment the door closed behind her, Fiora leaned her back against the cold stone wall of the dungeon and took several deep breaths. Bringing two fingers to her neck, Fiora checked her racing pulse. _What did he do? _Fiora thought furiously, trying to fathom a reason for why her heart was racing at a pace that it didn't reach even when she was in a duel.

"Tch!" Fiora sounded, clearly annoyed and flustered at the same time. It was definitely not magic, Aatrox was clearly no mage. Fiora ground her teeth in anger as she was unable to pinpoint the cause of her discomfort. Finally, the duelist shoved herself off of the wall and strode away at a brisk pace. Although her heart still raced, Fiora pushed the feeling out of her mind. _A momentary lapse in control_ Fiora told herself as though she were trying to convince herself of a fact _It will not happen again..._

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Thank you all for showing your support for this series, and a special thanks to those of you who have provided feedback on what I can improve upon. I know this chapter was a little bit slower than the others and it is devoid of action scenes, but hopefully there is enough character development and interaction to make up for that. Still a long ways to go with this story, hope to see you all in the future!


	5. Chapter 5

**Judgment**

Aatrox blinked, squinting against the blindingly bright lights that seared his eyes. Loud... Noisy... Annoying... Suppressing his rising anger, Aatrox wrenched his eyes open and gazed out across the mass of humans before him. They were screaming and yelling at something... Someone... Him... Their gazes didn't unsettle him, it simply annoyed him. Why was he even standing in this tiny box, surrounded on all four sides by a tiny three foot tall wooden wall. Was he some sort of zoo animal set out for display? Aatrox scowled beneath an impassive facial expression. Whatever was happening, he hoped it would be over soon. As if on cue, there was a creaking sound as a door behind Aatrox opened and a robed man stepped out. Instantly, the raucous crowd quieted down and took their seats. Aatrox twisted his head slightly so he could observe the robed figure through the corner of his crimson eyes. The man was small, old, and rather frail. A few strands of grey hair speckled his balding head. _Weak._ Aatrox immediately thought as he looked at him. It was a stark contrast to the powerful voice the man had. Abruptly, the man spoke in a commanding tone:

"This court is now in session." The man promptly took his seat at the front of the court room before speaking again. "We are here today to determine the fate of this... _demon_... who has taken the lives of several of our finest soldiers-" Before he could continue, the audience shot to its feet and roared to life, the individual members yelling unintelligible words and calling for a guilty verdict.

"ORDER!" The judge boomed, "WE WILL HAVE ORDER!" The audience's roaring gradually died down and they again took their seats. The judge droned on, going through the formalities of explaining the situation and what Aatrox's charges were. In total, there were fifty accounts of murder along with several accounts of resisted arrest. However, Aatrox was barely listening to the charges. The only thought running through his mind was how comical the scene was. A court hearing... Aatrox wanted to laugh. It was such a naive and false projection of justice. There was only one true concept of justice and that was only obtainable through strength and power. This... _ideal_? It was too fake, so unrepresentative of what truly lay within the hearts of men. Before Aatrox could continue his train of thought, he was rudely interrupted by a nudge from behind him. It was one of the puny guards assigned to restrain him in the event that he became violent.

"What." Aatrox spat at the guard, causing the guard to jerk away and cower in fear. The judge abruptly cleared his throat and brought Aatrox's attention back to him.

"I asked you, what have you to say in your defense?" The judge repeated, as Aatrox was clearly not paying attention to his question the first time.

"My defense? I need only my blade for defense." Aatrox said in his usual hoarse and dangerously low voice. Uncomfortable, the judge adjusted his position in the chair before explaining.

"This is where you present your defense, your argument against the charges we have accused you of."

Aatrox's annoyance skyrocketed beneath his seemingly calm guise. Every cell in his body resisted the urge to barbarically slaughter everything in sight. Aatrox took a breath and breathed out slowly, calming himself. _No, _Aatrox thought, _I must play along with their petty games..._

"My defense is simple. I protected myself as necessary." Aatrox stated simplistically. "Both times I engaged in battle, I was provoked first." Instantly, the crowd again shot to its feet and howled with words of "liar" and other convictive words. The judge brought a hand up into the air, wordlessly commanding that the audience return to their silence.

"You say 'both times'. Could you specify when and where?" the judge inquired after the audience had pacified themselves.

"First was in an alleyway inside this city. Second was in the outskirts." Aatrox replied promptly.

"And why is it that you are here in Demacia?"

"I was seeking an individual." Aatrox lied conveniently.

"Was?" The judge asked immediately, "Then you have found this individual already?"

"She found me first."

"Then who was this individual and why were you seeking her out?"

"I seek only the strongest opponents." Aatrox smiled genuinely before speaking again, "Fiora Laurent..."

Immediately, a quiet murmur ran through the crowd as the audience wondered what Aatrox could have possibly wanted from their duelist.

"Then we hereby call forth Lady Fiora Laurent to confirm your words." The judge concluded soundly. Again, the crowd murmured, but was immediately silenced as Fiora stood up from among their ranks and moved forward into the court.

"Lady Laurent, what were the events that brought you into contact with this individual?"

Fiora glared at the judge with a stare that conveyed all of the annoyance in the world, but she obliged his requests.

"I was returning to my manor when I came into contact with him." Fiora answered as concisely as possible.

"This individual claims that he was provoked and defended himself as seen fit. Is this accurate?"

Fiora's temple twitched as her patience waned

"Yes." She replied.

"Then you confronted him with good reason then?" The judge pressed on.

Fiora shut her eyes and frowned, giving the judge a clear view and understanding that her patience was being tried. Opening her eyes, she spoke "He was..." Fiora paused as she took a pointed glance at Aatrox "intruding upon my personal space." She finished sharply with an air of arrogance and superiority.

As she spoke, the judge let out a slight sigh of exasperation, but he quickly covered it by clearing his throat. It wasn't the first time Fiora had aggressively pursued her own personal justice outside of Demacian law. It would be impossible to convict the demonic swordsman given that Fiora was the one that instigated the fight. Wearily, the judge was forced to press on.

"It is known that you engaged this swordsman a second time, outside of this city's walls. Is this correct, Lady Laurent?"

"Yes."

"Could you perhaps review the events of that day for us?"

"I could." Fiora didn't continue, deliberately waiting for the judge to directly ask her to recount the past events. A few seconds passed in silence until the judge's face flushed a bright red and he spoke,

"If you could please..."

Fiora promptly rolled her eyes and let out a breath, again visibly displaying her annoyance. "I arrived at one of the various ponds that lay out the outskirts of this city. At the time of my arrival, the members of the first scouting party were already dead. Their bodies were dry, implying that they were dead for a length of time. Exactly thirty three minutes after my arrival..." Fiora turned and pointed at Aatrox "He arrived at the scene."

"Then you imply that he arrived after the men were killed? You are saying he is not the man who killed the first scouting party?" The judge inquired. He regretted it immediately. Upon being interrupted, Fiora tilted her head back and glared down the bridge of her nose at the judge. She didn't even need to say anything for him to realize he had unintentionally angered her by questioning the obvious.

"As I was saying..." Fiora released her petrifying gaze from the judge and continued "He arrived after I did. He then _requested_ that we continue where our duel had left off."

"If I may, Lady Laurent" the judge asked as politely as possible "How did you know where to find this individual and why were you seeking him?"

"A scout notified me of a potential location. When I neared the area, the scent of blood was strong. It was _easy_ to find." Fiora took a breath before she continued "As for why I sought him out... You can blame your own soldiers for that. _THEY _ interrupted _MY_ duel and took away _MY_ opponent."

"So you travelled out of the city just to continue a duel?" The judge inquired, sounding doubtful and surprised at the same time.

"A weakling such as yourself would never understand!" Fiora finally snapped as her temper finally erupted. "The strong will always seek the strong as a means to further their abilities! Do you believe I am satisfied with a petty duel against the soldiers of this city? I could beat them blindfolded and with one arm tied behind my back! TCH!" Behind Fiora, the audience shifted uncomfortably in response to Fiora's arrogant refusal to acknowledge the judge's position of power. At the head of the court, the judge swallowed nervously, almost afraid to continue asking Fiora questions. Alas, he had no choice but to do so.

"Could you tell us about the events that occurred during and after your duel?" the judge inquired meekly.

Fiora closed her eyes and took a deep, calming breath before speaking. "We were again interrupted by _your_ soldiers who rudely disrupted an honorable battle. I myself was dragged away from my duel by none other than that oaf you call 'the might of Demacia'. At the same time, the soldiers he had with him attacked my opponent without any warning or offer of parley." Fiora finished with a pointed glare at the judge. Again, the judge swallowed his fear and spoke.

"It is known that during this time, this... _demon_... massacred the soldiers that were attacking him. Correct?"

"Yes." Fiora replied

"Thank you Lady Laurent." The judge finally spoke, seeming as if he was more glad to be rid of Fiora than Fiora was glad to be rid of him.

"We now take this case to the jury, we trust you to make a fair and impartial decision. You have five minutes to decide this demon's fate." The judge concluded as he glanced at his wristwatch. No sooner than he had finished speaking, the first juror shot to his feet.

"GUILTY AS CHARGED!" The man yelled unreasonably and without consulting his peers. The second juror followed suit within seconds,

"GUILTY AS CHARGED!" She cried out. The process repeated itself down the line of jurors , none of them taking even a second of deliberation to consult each other or even consider the evidence provided in Aatrox's defense.

From her seat in the audience, Fiora felt her anger boil dangerously. Yet, she couldn't help but feel a sensation of dread creep over her. Unconsciously, Fiora swallowed the lump in her throat. It was clear from the beginning that the trial was never intended to be fair. As she came back to her senses, Fiora only heard two words that created a pit in her stomach.

"Demon, in accordance to your charges, you are hereby sentenced to a public execution." The judge concluded victoriously. Fiora's dread was drowned out in the raucous roars of approval from the audience.

* * *

_Hours Later_

It was rare that Fiora ever found herself crammed in the midst of a mass of commoners. It was such an undignified place to be, surrounded by the stench of dirty common folk and other peasants. Yet, somehow the things she usually took disdain in were disturbingly not very prominent in her mind. Instead, the famed duelist could only feel a rapidly increasing sense of dread as the pit in her stomach seemed to grow unhinged. Finally, Aatrox emerged from the dungeon, his hands crudely chained together in a manner that only seemed to accentuate his demonic appearance. Flanked by guards on both sides, Aatrox was marched roughly to the executioner's platform where a blood stained concrete slab sat. Nearing the slab, the guards paused and roughly jerked Aatrox to a halt, allowing the mass of citizens to have a clear look at him. In response, the crowd cheered, eagerly anticipating the bloody end to his existence. To Fiora though, the roars of the crowd were strangely mute. In a trance like state, everything seemed to slow. Her hearing blocked out the distracting roars of the crowd, allowing Fiora's senses to focus on more important sounds and actions. Yet, Fiora could find nothing of greater importance to focus on. Finally, Aatrox was roughly shoved forward. Behind him, the two guards kicked the back of his legs, forcing him down to a kneeling position. Both guards then grabbed Aatrox by the shoulders and pushed him down so that his head lay on the bloody stone slab.

_No..._ Fiora's subconscious spoke in her head. She froze, hesitating and wondering what she could possibly be saying no to. On the platform, the grim metal plated executioner approached Aatrox.

_No..._ Fiora's subconscious again spoke, this time stronger. Fiora brought a hand up to her neck, an unconscious habit of checking her pulse when she nervous. Halfway to her neck, Fiora stopped and looked down at her hand. It was shaking uncontrollably. Fiora brought up her other hand. It too shook uncontrollably. Glancing around, the duelist looked at the citizens around her. No one had noticed her discomfort. The shaking was purely from herself. Finally, the executioner picked up a hideously massive axe from his side. Gripping the weapon with both hands, the executioner heaved the weapon over his head.

From Fiora's perspective, time froze for a second as a chilling shiver ran down her spine. Her eyes dilated in panic as adrenaline surged through her veins.

_NO!_ Fiora's subconscious screamed at her, unreasonably commanding her with all of its power to do something, _anything._ In one fluid motion, Fiora reached out with her left hand and roughly shoved the citizen in front of her out of the way. At the same time, she used her right hand to cleanly draw her rapier from its scabbard at her waist. Oblivious, the executioner heaved his axe downwards, sending the blade travelling along its four foot path to its destination. With speed far greater than any she had previously attained before, Fiora leapt onto the platform, landing across from the executioner; Aatrox kneeling between them. Three feet until the axe connected. Without even bothering to recompose her stance, Fiora lunged at the executioner's axe. Two feet until impact. Mid-lunge, Fiora instantly predicted the weight of the axe. Thirty pounds at least, it would take all of her strength to even deflect the weapon's momentum. Fiora instantly applied her analysis to a horizontal slash. One foot until impact. -CLANG!- Fiora slashed sideways with all of the muscles in her torso and arm. The blow barely had enough force to deflect the axe's downward path, causing the heavy weapon to miss Aatrox's head by a few millimeters. At the same time, the deflection caused the executioner to lose his grip on the weapon, sending the deadly axe spiraling to the floor until it imbedded itself solidly in the wooden execution platform. Fiora didn't bother watching the axe as it clattered to the ground. Instead, she nimbly danced over Aatrox and brutally swung at the chains binding his wrists. Sparks flew as Fiora's rapier cleanly sliced through the chains, freeing Aatrox, but chipping and dulling Fiora's rapier at the same time. Without getting up, Aatrox reached out and yanked Fiora off of her feet and onto her fours, barely moving her in time as the tip of a spear pierced the air where she was moments before. After his missed stab, the guard recoiled and stabbed again at the duelist. Aatrox again interfered by reaching out and catching the spear by the blade before the weapon could injure the duelist. Furious, Aatrox yanked the spear out of the guard's hands, ignoring the injury he caused to himself in the process. Aatrox then bolted to his feet and grabbed the guard by the face and bodily heaved the armored man into the other guard that had been assigned to escorting Aatrox. Both guards collapsed to the ground in a messy heap. Aatrox immediately turned and helped Fiora back to her feet. Their eyes met briefly and Aatrox spoke

"You have a plan, right?"

Fiora's response surprised him.

"Not at all." She replied flatly. The sound of more guards boarding the platform immediately broke Aatrox's surprise.

"Improvise." Aatrox rasped and heaved the duelist up onto his shoulder. Mustering his strength, Aatrox leapt into the air, intending to fly to safety. Unfortunately, he had not recuperated enough to do so. Instead of gliding cleanly out of danger, Aatrox and Fiora plunged straight into the mass of citizens surrounding the platform, landing in a disorganized heap.

"That was intended, yes?" Fiora asked somewhat angrily about being handled so rudely.

"Sorry." Aatrox muttered as the pair pulled themselves to their feet. Before the two could escape, however, they quickly found themselves surrounded by masses of guards. One particularly bold guard took a lunge at Aatrox, but Fiora immediately intercepted the blow with her rapier, disarming the man in a single, swift counter. Upon seeing their comrade attack, the rest of the guards followed suit. Fiora hesitated, unable to develop a suitable defense to the combined attack. Aatrox, on the other hand, acted instantly. Turning to Fiora, he pulled her into his chest, using his back, hands, and arms to prevent any of the spears from touching the duelist. Aatrox coughed violently as several spears rammed into his back and arms, inflicting severe damage on him. Beneath him, Fiora could feel a large amount of warm liquid trickle down her neck as blood poured out of Aatrox's wounds. Before she could do anything though, Aatrox pushed her down to the floor. Reaching up to the sky, Aatrox roared and explosively brought forth his demonic blade. He then wildly swung in a full circle, knocking all of the guards around them to their feet as his blade made contact with their shields. Aatrox was about to pounce upon the nearest guard when a loud and powerful voice boomed,

"ENOUGH!" Instantly, the guards ceased their hostile actions and hastily parted, forming a path between them. The remaining citizens who had not fled the scene also quieted down to absolute silence. As a channel opened between the sea of guards and citizens, Fiora got a clear look at a knight, dressed in resplendent armor leading a elegantly robed figure towards them. It was none other than Prince Jarvin IV and his father, the king. As the two members of the royal family neared the throne, Jarvin hissed at Fiora as discreetly as possible.

"Fiora, _what_ are you _doing_!" His tone conveyed a worried sense of concern for her safety as opposed to outright anger at her insubordinate actions. Slowly, Fiora stood up, dusting off her now dirtied uniform. She made no motion to sheath her rapier, nor did she show any inclination of surrender. Finally, she replied to Jarvin.

"Standing for what is _just_." Fiora answered crisply. Before Prince Jarvin could question her further, King Jarvin stepped out from behind his son and approached the duelist. Fiora again made no motion to sheath her rapier. She kept herself armed and readied as the King walked up within seven feet of her, easy striking distance. Finally, the king spoke,

"Lady Laurent..." He paused, taking a breath "This... _man_... has been convicted in accordance to our laws. Is it not our duty... _Your_ duty to see to it that this judgment is passed?" Fiora didn't allow herself to be discomforted by the fact that the king was addressing her before a countless number of people. The duelist stood up taller and steeled herself before replying.

"A verdict from a deaf jury is as good as no jury at all!" Fiora retorted, sounding much more confident and aloof that she actually was. In reaction to her reply, the guards surrounding the group shuffled uncomfortably as they each personally acknowledged that Fiora was indeed correct. Aatrox's guilt was already determined prior to the court, the trial was but a show.

King Jarvin, on the other hand, was taken aback. Curiously, the king walked closer to Fiora, peering intently into the depths of her eyes. Then, the king abruptly turned away and addressed the crowd. "Is this true?" The king asked. Silence. "I asked. Is. This. True?" the king repeated demandingly. Again, there was no response, only an uncomfortably guilty silence shared amongst the guards who had witnessed the trial. The king straightened himself and clasped his hands together, increasing the intimidation factor that his presence held. Finally, he spoke again. "Convicting an innocent man is a crime itself. Do you realize what you have done?" The king demanded, projecting his voice powerfully over the crowd around him. He didn't bother waiting for a reply. "Be glad that each and every one of you will not be taken to a court and judged as unfairly as you have done to this individual." The king sighed and so did the guards around them. By no means did they want to be punished under Demacia's harsh rules. Finally, the king turned to Aatrox who was standing stalk still and staring out into thin air. "As for you..." He paused and then smiled abruptly "I hereby declare you an innocent man. You are welcome and free to stay within these walls." The king finished as he strolled over to the hulking demon, gazing at Aatrox somewhat expectantly. Aatrox didn't show any sign of acknowledgement. Only the sound of dripping blood punctuated the awkward silence that enveloped the area. Finally the king glanced down and gasped. Aatrox was standing in a disturbingly large puddle of his own crimson life. The king was about to place a hand on Aatrox's shoulder to see if he was still alive when Aatrox abruptly moved and turned his crimson eyes to face the king. Surprised, the king tried to smile at Aatrox, but the best he could muster through his surprise and fear was a twitch of his lip as the corner of his mouth tried to curl upwards. However, the king quickly recomposed himself and spoke to the demonic swordsman.

"You're a lucky man." The king said with a shaky smile. He glanced at Fiora and back at Aatrox. "In many ways..." He finished, letting his voice trail off. Aatrox stared at the man uncomprehendingly. His words were so hard to understand. Why was he speaking so softly? Aatrox wondered as his vision blurred slightly. Aatrox tried to ask the man to repeat himself, but all that came out was "Wwwha..." before a blood poured out of his mouth. Abruptly, Aatrox felt the strength in his legs cut out, causing him to teeter dangerously. The darkin glanced downwards and noticed the huge red stain that he was standing in. _Oh..._ Aatrox thought as his eyes rolled backwards and he fell backwards. Aatrox was already unconscious by the time his body fell a few feet into Fiora's arms.

* * *

**Author's** **Notes**

Hi everyone, thanks for taking the time to read this latest chapter. It's a bit long, but if I had split it up, it would have just ended up being two kinda short chapters. Anyways, there are still another two to four chapters in the works before this story comes to a close. I haven't decided as to how I would like to split things up yet. Anyways, thanks again for reading, review if you have pointers for me, and hope to see you in the next chapter!


	6. Chapter 6

**The House of Laurent**

_Warm... Soft..._ _Wait What? Warm? Soft? What the hell!?_ Aatrox bolted upright immediately, sitting up so fast that his vision blurred as he became slightly light-headed. Immediately, Aatrox grumbled in pain as lances of pain stabbed through his brain until his blood circulation returned to normal. Aatrox swiveled his head, taking a quick scanning glance around the room that he was in. _Luxurious_ Aatrox immediately thought. The room was decorated in a manner that reflected an extreme degree of wealth. Everything ranging from the polished wooden nightstand to the fluffy couch at the opposite side of the room was picture perfect; clean to a degree that bordered on obsessive. Even the bed that Aatrox lay in smelled of a freshly cleaned linen. Aatrox grunted, sniffing slightly in disgust of the overly neat room. Finally, Aatrox swung himself out of the bed, landing solidly on his feet. Too solidly. Aatrox looked down, somewhat surprised that he had recovered so quickly. Not that it was unusual that he healed quickly, but it wasn't ever this fast before. Glancing down, Aatrox found out why he had recovered so quickly. Wrapped about his torso and several sections of his body were large strips of white gauze. He had been treated. Aatrox cringed slightly. He didn't like the idea of other people being around him, much less _touching_ him while he was unconscious. _Disgusting_ Aatrox thought as he messily ripped the bandages off his body and tossed them unceremoniously onto the floor. Once free of the white strips of cloth, Aatrox stood at his fullest height, flexing his muscles and feeling the energy that had finally returned to him. Now all that was left was to find out where he managed to land himself. Moving quietly, Aatrox swiftly exited the room he was in, only to find himself in a very long hallway with countless doors. Like the room he had just left, the hallway was also decorated extravagantly, furnished with all sorts of fancy statues and even carpeted with an extremely exquisite velvet. Aatrox grunted and continued walking, wandering aimlessly about until he finally reached the end of the hallway where his eyes were greeted with the sight of a massive foyer. Aatrox glanced up, feeling momentarily dwarfed by the grand size of the area which stretched an easy three stories high. Hanging from the top of the ceiling was a massive glass chandelier which refracted and reflected the light streaming through the nearby windows in a resplendent display of colors. Again, Aatrox snorted with half-hearted contempt and swiftly descended the stairs from the hallway down to the foyer. The moment Aatrox's feet touched the cold, polished surface of the marble floor, the glimmer of black steel caught the corner of his eye. Aatrox turned and glanced at the object that sat neatly atop a mounting on the wall; a rapier. Immediately, Aatrox knew where he was. This luxurious estate was none other than the House of Laurent. In the depths of his mind, Aatrox felt the last vestiges of concern fade from his conscience. He wasn't entirely sure why he felt comfortable being in Fiora's home, but Aatrox paid the feeling no heed. Instead, Aatrox swiftly strode over to the blade and gently lifted the razor sharp weapon from its resting place on the stand. Carefully, the Darkin turned the black steel blade over in his hands. It was a rapier that had seen a countless number of battles. Yet, the appearance showed almost no signs of use. _Well cared for_ Aatrox thought subconsciously with a small smile on his face. Aatrox ran a finger along the flat of the rapier, close to the razor edge of the blade, reading the history that was engraved in the steel. Turning the blade over, Aatrox ran his fingers over an ornate crimson red engraving carved into the surface of the blade. He didn't recognize the language. It was something Aatrox was always able to do, read a blade's past through contact with the weapon's steel. However, before Aatrox could pry too much into the history of the blade, there was a sharp tap on the ground behind him. Aatrox froze and narrowed his eyes. Few people could approach him without him noticing, which meant that this individual was... Aatrox turned around and stared directly into the face of the woman behind him. _Fiora_...

Fiora smiled somewhat smugly as she tilted her head slightly and gazed at Aatrox with her classic razor sharp stare. Aatrox didn't let himself be discomforted by the piercing gaze, instead choosing to stare straight back at the duelist with his hellish crimson eyes. Fiora's smile broadened until she openly laughed.

"You challenge me then!" Fiora spoke through her mirth. Behind his stare, Aatrox was slightly baffled. Since when did a staring contest become a way to challenge someone to a duel? Aatrox wondered somewhat curiously. He didn't have time to consider much, however. Seconds later, Fiora leapt at him with a wooden meter stick in hand. Without time to bring out his own blade, Aatrox messily tried to block with the rapier in his hands. It worked. Sort of. Being unaccustomed to the rapier's weight, or rather, lack of weight, Aatrox swung the blade with far too much force. Fiora neatly whipped her wooden meter stick out of the way of the block and brought the item crashing down onto Aatrox's forehead with a loud slap. Aatrox twitched as his anger spiked. Openly, Aatrox grit his teeth and scowled at the duelist. Fiora chuckled in response and skipped back a few meters.

"Again." Fiora spoke, somewhat demandingly and challengingly at the same time. Aatrox's scowl deepened as he swished the rapier around in the air, trying to get a feel for its weight. An impossible task, really, the rapier essentially had no weight at all. Aatrox snorted in disgust. The blade looked like and felt like a toothpick in his gigantic hands. For a moment, Aatrox debated ditching the toothpick and bringing forth his true weapon, but he quickly discarded the thought as Fiora was only using a wooden stick to spar with him. Angry and annoyed, Aatrox turned to Fiora and sloppily hacked at her with the rapier. Again, Fiora laughed openly at the messy lack of technique. In the midst of her mirth, Fiora nimbly deflected one of Aatrox's stabs, promptly twisting her meter stick in a manner that wrenched the rapier out of Aatrox's hands. Deftly, Fiora twirled and caught the ornate red and black rapier in her free hand before turning back to Aatrox and pointing the rapier directly at his chest. She then swiftly tossed the meter stick spiraling into the air so that it landed neatly on the stand that the rapier used to rest upon. Aatrox's fury raged beneath his skin as Fiora stared at him with a tauntingly arrogant smile. Finally, Aatrox spoke in a manner that clearly expressed his feeling of being insulted to such a degree.

"You have proven nothing!" Aatrox snarled nastily as he swatted Fiora's blade away from his chest. Although the action cut his forearm slightly, Aatrox paid the wound no mind. Instead, he roughly shoved Fiora away from him, reached behind him and yanked a huge fifty pound claymore out of the hands of one of the various statues that decorated the foyer. Aatrox smiled broadly as he felt the hefty weight of the weapon in his hands. Without waiting any longer, he leapt at Fiora, swinging the massive blade downwards in a barbarically lethal cleave. Fiora danced backwards, away from the deadly blow. As a result, the blade smashed into the floor, cracking and chipping the ground where the blade made direct impact. Fiora frowned openly, clearly displeased with the damage that Aatrox was causing to her mansion. Nimbly, she continued dancing backwards, dodging out of the way of Aatrox's strikes until Aatrox finally taunted her.

"So you like dancing then?" Aatrox growled at her, attempting to provoke the duelist into directly facing him. The taunt _almost _worked. However, Fiora was controlled enough to suppress her anger and continue moving towards the training area of her mansion. Aatrox didn't care that the duelist continued backing away, instead, he simply chased after her, swinging the claymore and causing further damage to the walls and furniture around them. Privately, Aatrox enjoyed watching the duelist wince each time his blade made fresh artwork out of the walls of her home. Finally, the two arrived at the large indoor training area. Not a moment too soon. Unable to restrain her anger any further, Fiora immediately whirled upon Aatrox and besieged him with a torrent of stabs and slices. Aatrox was driven backwards, pressured relentlessly under the hailstorm of slashes. Similar to their previous duels, Aatrox could not find an opening to launch his own counter attacks, so he resorted to the exact same method he had in the past. When Fiora made a piercing lunge at him, Aatrox shifted to the side slightly, allowing the rapier to graze his shoulder. Again, the strike injured him, but provided him with the opening he needed. Roughly, Aatrox shoulder checked Fiora, jostling her and unbalancing her slightly. Before she could recover, Aatrox flew into his own raging tornado of cleaves. The blows were strong and precise, but they were not of the same caliber that Fiora had felt when she fought against Aatrox in the past. Subconsciously, the duelist frowned as Aatrox didn't meet her expectations. Finally, Fiora drove back at Aatrox with the intention of winning. Backing away, Fiora briefly increased the distance between her and Aatrox. Before he could lunge at her again, however, Fiora flashed forward with lightning speed. Aatrox barely had enough time to raise the claymore and block the strike. Yet, Fiora was far from done. Now behind Aatrox, Fiora spun and again flashed straight back at Aatrox at a speed that seemed impossible considering that she had to reverse her momentum and reaccelerate towards her opponent. However, such a technique was far from impossible for the duelist. The series of slashes and abrupt changes in direction had taken her years to master. By now, it was so natural to her and so signature of her style that Prince Jarvan himself dubbed it the infamous _Blade Waltz_. Wielding an ungainly blade, Aatrox had trouble keeping up with the duelist. He blocked and parried as best he could, but was cut lightly repeatedly as he was unable to match Fiora's speed. In one last attempt to best the duelist, Aatrox neglected to block entirely, instead choosing to swing at the duelist as she dashed towards him, only to have Fiora seeming vanish right before the blade made contact. Fiora reappeared directly behind the darkin. Panting heavily, Fiora rested the flat of her rapier lightly on Aatrox's shoulder, giving him a clear understanding that _she_ was victorious. Once she caught her breath, Fiora spoke.

"It is _rude_ to hold back." She stated, sounding as though she were insulted that Aatrox didn't use his full abilities during their brief duel. Although Aatrox considered a retort, he quickly held back his tongue and looked away, realizing that he actually didn't have any reason at all to hold back after Fiora had taken the rapier from him. Aatrox grumbled something unintelligible and changed the subject instead.

"That blade." Aatrox spoke with a sideways glance at the black rapier. "Why do you not use it all of the time?"

It was now Fiora's turn to be caught slightly off guard. _He noticed in such a short time?_ Fiora wondered. Removing the rapier from Aatrox's shoulder and bringing the rapier level to her chest, Fiora ran her free hand over the red engravings on the side of the rapier. Finally, she gave a mildly disappointed sigh and spoke

"Irreparable damage..." She said in a surprisingly soft voice as though she were wistfully recalling a time in which she actually did use the rapier. Turning to Aatrox, she lifted the blade up to Aatrox's face so that he could have a closer look at the weapon. As he scanned the flat of the rapier, Aatrox noticed several chips that dotted the side of the sword. Deep cuts that revealed the very core of the blade. A cracked core. Aatrox leaned back and briefly glanced into the duelist's eyes. She didn't meet his gaze. It was irreparable indeed, the core of a sword could never be replaced or reforged without altering the entire weapon itself. To the user, however, such an action would be akin to using a new sword entirely. Shuffling uncomfortably because he had brought up a touchy subject, Aatrox tried again to change the subject.

"This is your house? Why am I here?" Aatrox inquired, attempting to sound polite and failing miserably in doing so. Unfortunately for Fiora, the question only seemed to further her discomfort. Fidgeting slightly, she tapped a toe on the ground and flushed slightly.

"You were... invited." She managed to say as she turned away, trying to disguise her discomfort.

"Invited?" Aatrox pressed on cluelessly. Fiora turned so that she was facing entirely away from Aatrox.

"I had my reasons." Fiora snapped attempting to sound annoyed as opposed to embarrassed.

"You need not trouble yourself." Aatrox replied bluntly. He took a breath before continuing "Was I not about to be executed in the name of your 'justice'?" Fiora hesitated and brushed a few stray strands of hair out of her face before she replied.

"I... _persuaded_ King Jarvan to... _reconsider._" Fiora replied, trying desperately to hide her growing embarrassment.

"Then I can be on my way then-"

"You will do no such thing!" Fiora snapped, abruptly interrupting Aatrox before he could finish his sentance. Surprised at her outburst, Aatrox marched around the duelist so that Fiora was again facing him. Patiently, he waited for Fiora to explain herself. Despite being right in front of him, Fiora refused to meet Aatrox's expectant stare. Now uncomfortable and extremely embarrassed with her outburst, Fiora cleared her throat. _Tch.. So inelegant..._ Fiora chided herself silently. Finally, she mustered the voice to speak up again.

"You... will be _accompanying _me to Demacia's Annual Ball." Fiora finished. Aatrox stared at the duelist, unsure if she was genuinely asking him to such an event._ What the hell is a ball anyways?_ Aatrox wondered. Finally, the darkin spoke.

"There will be strong opponents to battle?" He inquired, legitimately hoping that a ball was some sort of gladiator fight. Instantly, Fiora frowned as her embarrassment evaporated, replaced by annoyance.

"The Demacian Annual Ball is the most prestigious gathering that takes place in all of Demacia throughout the entire year." Fiora stated in a manner that reflected the fact that she was talking _down_ to Aatrox. Upon hearing Fiora's words, Aatrox's face wrinkled in disgust.

"Go without me," Aatrox retorted, his expression clearly exhibiting his disgust for socializing. Aatrox quickly remembered the suitor that was pestering Fiora the day the two swordsmen encountered each other "Surely you will have no problems finding a different individual to accompany you." He finished concisely.

Fiora's temper spiked dangerously as Aatrox had completely rejected her offer. Forgetting her previous discomfort and embarrassment, Fiora strode up within inches of Aatrox's body. Taking a finger, she jabbed it into his broad, muscular chest and spoke.

"You. Owe. Me." The duelist said, punctuating each word with a sharp prod into Aatrox's sternum. "Besides," Fiora continued, "I will not have some weakling as my... my _date."_ Upon saying "date" Fiora's cheeks flushed a slight pink as she abruptly remembered her uncharacteristic break in her typically elegant demeanor. Thankfully, Aatrox was too befuddled to prod her with further questions. Instead, there was only dread running through his mind.

_A Ball?_ Aatrox thought...

_Shit..._

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Hi everyone, thank you for reading yet another chapter in this series. Before I get on to answering some questions and clarifications, I really do have to apologize for the delay in releasing this chapter. School has started up again and I am still getting everything sorted out as far as that goes. Excuses aside, I know I said this would be a long(er) chapter, but I simply couldn't find my rhythm for writing so I ended up cutting it short. The next chapter should be up without too much delay though, so you guys definitely will not have to wait another week or two for an update.

And here I will address the rather shameful issue of repeatedly spelling Jarvan's name wrong. I really legitimately thought it was spelled Jarvin (how embarrassing...) Sorry!

**Response to Reviews:**

Thank you to "Chill and Relax" and "Me/Me again" for pointing out the Jarvan issue

Soroy

I am assuming that you are referring to the portion of the story where I wrote "Fiora disarmed the man in a [...]" Disarmed is intended to mean that an individual (in this case Fiora) rendered her enemy weaponless by forcibly making her opponent "drop" his weapon. She did not slice off an arm or cause bodily injury to the man, she only made him loose his weapon.

everyone

Thanks for all the reviews and comments!


	7. Chapter 7

**A Crimson Gathering**

_People... are disgusting..._ Aatrox muttered to himself as he did his best to suppress his rising anger. The presence of people didn't bother Aatrox, but never before had he seen so many people discussing such droll topics. Seriously, who cared what so and so was wearing? Clothing was best as a functionality. Why would one ever care about aesthetics... Subconsciously, Aatrox shifted uncomfortably under his own clothing. He stubbornly denied Fiora's attempts to force him into wearing the overly fancy black tuxedo she had bought for him just for the occasion, but alas, her persistence bested his resistance . It wasn't as though he had much of a choice in the matter, really, Fiora was the one who had gone far out of her way to purchase the three thousand dollar custom tailored suit for him. _Such lengths for such frivolity..._Aatrox thought to himself as he mulled over the events that had placed him in the spot he was standing in now. Aatrox breathed out through his nose and briefly shut his eyes, calming himself slightly. Upon reopening his eyes, he glanced to his right. About ten meters away, Fiora was engaged in yet another conversation with a group of nobles. Again, they appeared to be chattering on about how "brave" Fiora had been in "standing for what was just". As he watched in silence, snippets of their conversation met his ears.

"He is among the strongest swordsmen I have had the honor of fighting against. I would not have such talent destroyed at the hands of false charges..."

"Ah, how very noble of you, Lady Laurent..."

Aatrox shut his eyes again and blocked out the sounds of their voices, trying to find some means to distract himself among the presence of such _boring_ activities. He was still in the midst of trying to find something when there was a light brush on his arm. Opening his eyes, Aatrox found Fiora seating herself on a chair next to him. The quick glance allowed Aatrox to take note of what Fiora had chosen to wear for the occasion. She wore an exquisite red dress that complemented her form nicely. Her hair was tied back neatly in a small bun, but most of all, she wasn't carrying her rapier. Subconsciously, Aatrox couldn't help but frown. At least when Fiora was carrying around her rapier, she looked like a serious fighter. Now, she just looked like another one of those gossiping nobles. Although Aatrox had a good poker face, Fiora was quick to pick up on his displeasure.

"What." Fiora questioned abruptly in a semi-offensive tone "Not to your liking?" She was clearly referring to her dress.

"You look naked without a rapier." Aatrox replied flatly.

Fiora's cheeks turned a slight pink at Aatrox's reply.

"It's not like I can carry one with me here." She replied indignantly. Fiora turned away from Aatrox and swirled a wine glass that Aatrox hadn't noticed she was carrying.

"Such... Frivolity..." Aatrox muttered quietly into the air as he folded his arms across his chest. Although his words were clearly meant for himself, Fiora replied to them anyway.

"It is... _necessary._"

"Such an activity could hardly be considered _necessary_." Aatrox responded stubbornly.

"Honor and reputation... It is important for me to maintain them." Fiora answered somewhat petulantly. "If there were alternatives to this-" Fiora gestured at the crowd "-I would take the alternatives."

Aatrox didn't reply. He now understood that Fiora quite clearly did not like attending such events, but did so only as a means to maintain the Laurent's name. After pondering his thoughts for a few moments, Aatrox finally spoke.

"Such lengths for such an intangible rewards."

It was now Fiora's turn to answer with silence. Instead, she simply turned to him and gazed at him curiously. Although Aatrox didn't meet her gaze, he knew that she was staring at him. It was... discomforting... Finally, Fiora broke her silence with a slight smile and a chuckle of laughter; an action that earned her a glare from Aatrox.

"Amused with my disgust?" Aatrox shot at her, sounding annoyed.

"Not at all." Fiora replied. She chuckled again before continuing "You just... look out of place."

"_You _jammed me in this rag and dragged me in here. Do not complain." Aatrox snapped back at the duelist, his annoyance evident.

Fiora frowned and swirled the wine in her glass more. After taking a small sip of the expensive drink, Fiora abruptly set the glass down and slid out of the chair. She turned her head to Aatrox, fixing him with a devious smile. Finally, she reached out and latched onto one of Aatrox's folded arms, pulling him gently towards some direction that he definitely did not want to go.

"If you want me to move, it would be easier to just ask." Aatrox spoke as trying to sound as aloof as possible. His words, however, earned him no reply from the duelist. Her smile only widened slightly as her eyes twinkled with amusement. Finally, Aatrox spoke again,

"What is it you want from me, woman?" Aatrox demanded. Fiora laughed as she replied,

"Dance with me."

Aatrox's temple twitched as his patience neared its limits.

"You _must_ be joking." He finally replied as he recovered from his surprise.

"Not at all." Fiora answered wearing a half wounded, half indignant look on her face.

"I. Do. NOT. Dance." Aatrox growled back, punctuating each word as if it would dissuade Fiora from attempting to drag him into yet another activity he did not want to take part in. Abruptly, Fiora stopped tugging on his arm and turned back to face him. She glared at him, stabbing holes into him with her piercing eyes. However, Aatrox was prepared for that. He knew Fiora well enough to expect such a response to his refusal of her offers. What he didn't expect was what Fiora did next. As abruptly as she had stopped tugging on his arm, Fiora leaned closer to Aatrox, pulling herself within inches of his battle-scarred body. Close. Uncomfortably close. So close that Aatrox could smell the faint scent of perfume that laced Fiora's body. Without increasing the distance between them, Fiora brought her mouth up to Aatrox's ear and whispered,

"_Dance with me..." _

Fiora then retreated slightly so that she could gaze at Aatrox's face. Her expression was far from what Aatrox was expecting to see. He expected to find a sort of commanding or demanding expression. What he got instead was an expectant gaze. Needless to say, Aatrox was yet again very surprised by the uncharacteristic change in attitude exhibited by the duelist. By the time he had recovered from the shock, it was too late. He was already being led towards the ballroom floor by Fiora's guiding hand.

* * *

Dancing was not one of Aatrox's strong points. He never saw the point of participating in such a petty activity and thus he had almost zero experience in it. In the past, he learned that people considered it an "intimate" activity that was part of socializing. Unfortunately, Aatrox was not interested in either intimacy nor was he interested in socializing. Besides, what could be more intimate than clashing blades with another individual, or better yet, taking the life of the other individual? Killing people. Now _that _was intimate. He would do anything to escape this-

"Ouch." Fiora audibly hissed, interrupting Aatrox's train of thought. Glancing down, Aatrox noticed he was stepping on the duelist's foot.

"Sorry." He muttered awkwardly.

"You have not danced before, yes?" Fiora inquired, sounding more like she was stating a fact as opposed to asking a question.

"Dancing is pointless." Aatrox replied pointedly.

"Then I will lead you." Fiora answered as if all Aatrox had said was "No I have not danced before."

Abruptly, Fiora took command of the dance, gently yet forcefully leading Aatrox through the steps and spins of ballroom dancing. Needless to say, Aatrox wasn't pleased to the slightest degree. For one, Fiora was leading him around like some dog on a leash. Aatrox was a leader, not a follower. But not only was Fiora leading him, she was leading him around in an activity that he wanted no part of.

"Ouch." Fiora hissed again, this time louder. Aatrox had stepped on one of her feet again.

"Sorry..." Aatrox grumbled. Quite clearly, he would not be able to let his mind wander aimlessly while he was... _dancing_... with the duelist. Fiora sniffed, subtly conveying her mild displeasure with Aatrox's lack of focus. The pair then continued their dance for a few minutes without any other notable disturbances. Behind his passive face, however, Aatrox's patience waned down to threads. Thankfully, for once, fate was merciful on the darkin. Just as Aatrox was about to lose his temper, a messenger appeared behind Fiora and tapped her gently on the shoulder. Fiora twitched as now her temper spiked. Sighing, she released Aatrox and turned to glower at the messenger.

"Is it not clear that I am busy?" The duelist demanded in a mildly offensive tone.

"My apologies, Lady Laurent, but the prince insisted that you come at once." The messenger answered apologetically.

Fiora sighed with displeasure. A summons from the prince was not one she could just brush off. She had no choice but to heed the call. Turning to Aatrox, she spoke

"We will continue when we get back." The duelist teased. Aatrox grumbled something inaudible in a subdued yet angry reply. With that, Fiora unhappily turned and motioned for the messenger to lead her away. Aatrox, on the other hand was all too pleased to finally be freed from "dancing". Turning in the opposite direction of Fiora, Aatrox shuffled past the other dancing pairs and made his way up one flight of stairs. Aatrox debated watching the mass of disgusting nobles milling about on the floor beneath him, but he quickly dispelled the idea. He needed fresh air, not some sore sight of disgustingly rich fools. With fresh air in mind, the darkin turned to the nearest balcony and stepped out into the cool night. _Peace and quiet at last_ Aatrox thought privately. Ordinarily peace and quiet disgusted him, but peace and quiet was a welcome change in comparison to the "Demacian Annual Ball" that he was attending. Alas, the peace would not last long for Aatrox. Minutes after his arrival on the balcony, his ears caught the sound of approaching footsteps from behind him. Aatrox didn't bother looking behind him to greet the individual approaching him. Instead, Aatrox gathered what he could from the sound of the person's footsteps. The steps were mildly heavy and solid. _Male_ Aatrox assumed. They were also authoritative and swift, moving without hesitation. _Nobility? No. Royalty._ Finally, Aatrox turned around and fixated his gaze on the man before him.

"Of all the people that I expected to see here. I did not expect to see _you_." Prince Jarvan spoke in a forcefully friendly voice. He was clearly suppressing his distrust of Aatrox. However, it was not the words that bothered Aatrox. It was the fact the prince was standing before him. Aatrox narrowed his eyes suspiciously and spoke

"Were you not speaking with Fiora?" Aatrox demanded forcefully.

"Lady Laurent? I thought she would be around you." Jarvan answered, sounding slightly surprised and put off by Aatrox's rather rude address. Jarvan glanced around before continuing, "Apparently I was wrong."

Aatrox leaned back folded his arms, mulling over what was perhaps a misunderstanding. _No_, Aatrox thought quickly_ It is too convenient..._ Immediately, Aatrox felt his pulse quicken as a possible situation arose in his mind. Abruptly, the darkin straightened himself and swiftly marched past Jarvan, almost shoving the prince of his way. A perplexed prince dusted himself off as he watched as Aatrox disappeared back into the crowd of party-goers.

"Strange fellow..." Jarvan muttered to himself before he too strolled back into the ballroom.

* * *

_Minutes Before..._

Fiora followed the messenger in silence. Her mind was slightly occupied with how sloppy Aatrox was on the dance floor. He picked it up rather quickly when he was actually paying attention, but to think that he was _that_ uncultured... Abruptly, Fiora brought herself back into focus. The messenger had led her out to a secluded balcony that was devoid of other people. Unconsciously, Fiora felt the hairs on the back of her neck tingle. Suspiciously, Fiora narrowed her eyes, but continued following the messenger further out onto the balcony without saying a word. Finally, the man stopped walking.

"Well?" Fiora barked, sharply, pretending as though she wasn't expecting what was coming next.

Abruptly, the man whirled upon her and pounced at her, carrying a dagger in his hand. _Assassin. I knew it_ Fiora thought to herself.

"Too slow!" Fiora laughed tauntingly as she nimbly sidestepped the attack and caught the man's outstretched wrist. The duelist then twisted the man's arm, wrenching the blade out of his hands and sending it clattering to the floor. She then whipped the man around and tripped him, causing him to land hard on his back. Before he could recover, Fiora planted the sharp heel of her three inch heels on one of the man's wrists, pinning the poor man to the ground. Using her other foot, she used the exact same tactic on the man's neck.

"Who sent you!" Fiora snarled at the man. The assassin gurgled in response as Fiora was choking him with her foot. Annoyed, Fiora briefly decreased the force she was putting on the man's neck before replacing the pressure.

"Speak! NOW!" Fiora demanded. Stubbornly, the man glared back at the duelist defiantly... Until he abruptly gave away an incoming attack with a broad smile. Fiora barely noticed that the assassin's eyes were not focusing on her but rather a spot behind her. Instantly, the duelist catapulted herself to her right, tucking into a roll and quickly landing on her feet. Before she could regain her footing in her three inch heels, Fiora was catapulted backwards, tackled to the floor by another assassin. Immediately, the duelist locked her hands onto the second assassin's right arm, preventing the man from stabbing her with his weapon. Straining, Fiora struggled as the man used his body weight to his advantage. Although she was entirely occupied with preventing the dagger from descending any further, Fiora noticed eight more assassins descending from the building and rushing towards her.

_Not good_ Fiora thought as she quickly tried to formulate a plan. Thankfully, the plan came to her. From a position that Fiora couldn't see, Aatrox barreled out of the ballroom with a barbaric and bloodthirsty roar. The action drew the attention of the descending assassins who then turned to face him while their comrade dealt with Fiora. Little did they know that they were far from being a match for Aatrox. Although they blocked the path to the duelist, Aatrox didn't show one ounce of hesitation. Rather than slowing down and killing them, Aatrox charged right through them, swatting them aside and ignoring the cuts he sustained in doing so. As for the assassin that had Fiora pinned to the floor, the poor man was so occupied with attempting to stab the duelist that he didn't even notice Aatrox standing behind him until-

"AUGH!" The man yelped as Aatrox stooped down and plucked the man up, lifting the assassin by the head with one arm. Then, in as horrible a manner as possible, Aatrox turned the man slightly so the assassin would have a clear look at Aatrox's demonic face before the darkin sent him to the next world. As the assassin slowly rotated helplessly, his eyes widened in open terror as he beheld the monster before him.

"LE'GOOFME!" The assassin howled and plunged his puny dagger into Aatrox's arm. Aatrox didn't even flinch as the blade embedded itself in his flesh. Instead, Aatrox raised the man slightly higher, then brought the poor fool's face crashing into the floor with extreme prejudice. There was a sickening crunch as the man's face caved in from the impact with the floor. Though the man was already dead, Aatrox wanted to make a show for the other assassins. Rather than leaving the man's face ingrained in the floor, Aatrox yanked the corpse back into the air and drove the corpse's head into the ground again. This time, there was a squelching sound as a hideous amount of blood and brain fluid splattered on the ground. With that, Aatrox stood up at his fullest height. Half covered in blood, the darkin ominously marched towards the other assassins. He was expecting them to flee. Thankfully, they didn't. Instead, the assassins created a triangular formation and rushed towards Aatrox, intending to use their numbers to their advantage. As they closed in, Aatrox reached out to his side and focused, causing his body to give off a ghastly red glow. Finally, just as the assassins reached striking distance, Aatrox roared and summoned his serrated blade into existence. Instantly, Aatrox dived upon the nearest assassin, plunging his blade into the man's chest and reaping the man's life. Unfazed, the rest of the assassins surrounded the darkin. From behind him, one of the assassins leapt up onto Aatrox's back and latched onto his tux, clearly intending to attack Aatrox's neck. Before the man could do so, however, the darkin snatched the man by a leg and hurled the assassin head first into the floor, snapping his neck. Before any assassins could take action, Aatrox cleaved sideways at the two nearest assassins, cutting one clean in half and ripping a chuck of the second's chest cavity. The remaining six assassins took advantage of the distraction, attacking simultaneously. Aatrox felt several daggers cut into his flesh as the assassins successfully landed several strikes on him. Yet, contrary to what was expected, Aatrox wasn't even fazed by the wounds. Instead, he lashed out with his blade and impaled the nearest enemy. Without drawing the blade out of the corpse, Aatrox turned, grabbed, and impaled a second; then soon after, a third. Thirstily, Aatrox's blade drank the blood of the dead men before Aatrox dumped the corpses on the floor in a pool of blood. The next two assassins died through pretty basic means. Aatrox simply hacked away until they weren't moving anymore. Finally, he turned to the one, remaining assassin. Although the last assassin knew he had no chance, he faced his fate with grim resolve. Leaping into the air, the man took a heroic stab at Aatrox's face. He got close, but close was never good enough. Before the dagger made contact with Aatrox, the darkin thrusted with his sword, impaling the man in mid air. The man coughed and his shoulders slumped as his life ebbed.

"At least you die with honor." Aatrox hissed at the assassin before he tossed the dying man on the floor.

Aatrox breathed in and out, savoring the smell of blood in the air. With the fun now over, Aatrox dispelled his blade in a cloud of red mist. He breathed deeply again, relishing in the peace until a familiar voice broke the silence.

"You owe me a new suit." Fiora said sharply as she regarded Aatrox out of the corner of her eye. Aatrox turned to the duelist. She was leaning casually on the railing of the balcony with her arms folded as though nothing had happened. Finally, she turned, faced him, and _smiled_. After a moment, Aatrox smiled back. However, he wasn't smiling about her. He was smiling about something else. Something that he had been planning for a long time.

_War._

* * *

**Author's** **Notes:**

Hello again, thank you for reading the seventh chapter to this series. As always, shoot me any suggestions or tips/points you have. All types of criticism are welcome.

**Response to Reviews:**

Ralf Jones:

Yes, Aatrox's legendary position will indeed play a role in the chapters to come. More than that, I cannot say unless I wanted to severely spoil the story. :P

Hope to see you all in the next chapter!


	8. Chapter 8

**Divided**

Restless. If one word could describe Aatrox, the word "restless" was perfect. Several days had passed since the eventful night at the Demacian Annual Ball and there was still a nervous tension that ran high throughout the city as a result of the attempted assassination. Although Aatrox made light of the event, the entirety of Demacia did the exact opposite. Despite their clear attempts to avoid an all out war with their nemesis, Demacia really only had one choice. Declare war. The fact that Noxus sent back the heads of any Demacian messengers didn't help create alternatives either. It was clear that Noxus wanted a war and they wouldn't stop until they got it. As he paced restlessly about the Laurent mansion, Aatrox unconsciously popped the knuckles on his fists. His anticipation for the coming bloodshed could not be overstated. Aatrox was still pacing about the foyer of the mansion when the front doors burst open with a furious slam. Fiora was back... and quite clearly angry.

Surprised, Aatrox stopped his pacing in the middle of the foyer and watched as the duelist brushed past him. Her demeanor seethed with displeasure and her stride was swift and agitated. Curious, Aatrox couldn't help but inquire as to what was troubling the duelist.

"Problem?" Aatrox questioned simplistically. It was a word he would later wish he had never asked. Furious, Fiora whirled and directed her seething rage at Aatrox.

"Problem?!" Fiora repeated almost incredulously. "We are at war now!" she exploded, "There will be no more festivities, there will be no more cordial duels, there will be NOTHING!" Fiora tossed her hair to the side and took a deep breath.

"Even I might be called for duty at the front lines." Fiora finished in a dangerously subdued voice.

Aatrox blinked cluelessly as he missed the point of Fiora's tirade.

"Such skill and yet you are apprehensive of battle?" Aatrox inquired, sounding mildly surprised.

Fiora glared at the Darkin with a gaze that held an immense amount of disgust. Subconsciously, Fiora wondered if Aatrox was legitimately that uncultured. The thought only served to further agitate the duelist. Grinding her teeth slightly, Fiora clarified her previous statement.

"The very life that I have built here is being put at risk." Fiora explained crisply "My honor, reputation, status... everything could be erased because of this..." Fiora paused as she came to a sudden realization "_YOUR_ war." the duelist concluded with an accusing tone. Aatrox stiffened immediately, suddenly finding himself under fire from the duelist. Taking Aatrox's silence as evidence of guild, Fiora pushed on relentlessly.

"That was your objective wasn't it?!" Fiora demanded furiously. "You were the one who invaded Noxus and stirred trouble there! And you came here to do the same!" The duelist stopped and shook her head in agitation. Her breathing and heart rate were unusually spiked. Finally, she spoke again, this time in a dangerously quiet voice.

"You used me." Fiora turned to gaze upon the wordless Darkin. Her eyes glazed over and she whispered "I can't believe you used me." Aatrox opened his mouth to deny the accusation with all of his might, but words failed to escape his throat.

Fiora turned away from him and slowly walked into a hallway at the back of the foyer. Once there, she took an immediate right and headed into the private bar. Aatrox heard the cling of a shot glass and a bottle of alcohol meet his ears moments later. After a few moments, Aatrox mutely trailed after the duelist. He didn't know what to say or what to do, but he found himself inclined to do something for Fiora. The duelist was seated atop a stool by the bar. Her legs were crossed and she rested her elbows on the bar top, using her hands as a surface to rest her head. As Aatrox approached her, Fiora poured another shot and knocked the drink back instantly. Aatrox stopped five feet behind the duelist, waiting for a response from Fiora. Finally, after a brief moment of silence, Fiora spoke up.

"You men are all the same. Just out for themselves... using others to their advantage." She stated flatly. Moments later, Fiora sighed and turned slightly to peek at Aatrox through the corner of her eye. "Only this time one of you actually succeeded." Behind her, Aatrox shifted uncomfortably. He didn't know what to say and he didn't know why he felt so guilty.

"I'm right aren't I." Fiora finally spoke. Atop her stool, the duelist turned slowly to face the darkin, fixating Aatrox with a dangerous, razor sharp stare. It wasn't the same sharp gaze as before. This time, it was a gaze as though Fiora was looking upon an enemy. From his position, Aatrox again shifted uncomfortably, but offered no words in reply.

"Well?" Fiora demanded impatiently.

Silence.

"I. Want. An. Answer." Fiora punctuated each word. She already knew she was right, but she wanted to hear a confirmation from Aatrox.

"Yes." Aatrox finally managed to croak. His voice extremely hoarse and raspy, as though his throat were constricted.

Fiora turned away and poured another shot before saying one word in reply.

"Out."

Aatrox stiffened, unsure of what exactly the duelist wanted.

"I SAID OUT! NEVER COME BACK! MY EYES WILL NOT GAZE UPON YOUR FILTH EVER AGAIN!" Fiora exploded violently. As she finished speaking, Fiora's breathing spiked to an agitated level, her heart beat raced and her nostrils flared. If one thing was clear, it was that Fiora was hurt; wounded by a betrayal that she never saw coming.

Despite being not being as cultured as the duelist, Aatrox knew well enough of how much damage he had done to the duelist. Glancing up, he briefly met Fiora's icy gaze. There were no words to be said. Nothing he could say now that could possibly placate the duelist. He could only heed her wishes. After a few moments of silence, Aatrox turned away and trudged mutely to the doorway of the bar. He paused briefly there, taking a breath as though he were to speak again. Alas, he could not force the words out of his throat. The words simply stuck, trapped within his own guilt. It wasn't until Aatrox had left the mansion that they finally escaped his throat.

"I'm sorry..." Aatrox whispered into the air. The Darkin turned back, gazing at the lonely mansion for one last time. Strangely, he felt empty as though he were leaving behind something important. Alas, Aatrox did his best to push aside the strange and foreign feelings coursing through his mind. He tried to remember his anticipation of the battles to come, but even that was dulled by the emptiness he now carried.

_War_... Aatrox whispered aloud to himself, trying to find the joy the simple word brought to him. Only this time, there was no anticipation or happiness. Only emptiness. Aatrox scowled and shoved the myriad of emotions in his head to the side.

_Perhaps bloodshed will remedy this..._ Aatrox thought privately.

Bloodshed.

Frontlines.

* * *

_Several Days Later_

Fiora sat alone in her mansion. It was quiet. Deathly quiet. Despite her best attempts to distract herself, the duelist found it simply impossible to take her mind off of that one particular person. Fiora sighed and slouched on one of the countless couches in her mansion, sinking into the voluptuous cushioning. Aimlessly, the duelist allowed her mind to wander about, trying to find an activity to focus on.

_The royal court?_ Fiora pondered. She frowned almost immediately. _No... There are no worthy opponents..._ Again, Fiora found herself wondering about Aatrox. If he were still here, he definitely would have obliged her desires for another duel. Abruptly, Fiora scowled and she chided herself. _There will be no forgiveness._ Fiora told herself resolutely. The duelist straightened herself on the couch and habitually reached out over the arm of the couch to pick up her rapier. As she did so, however, she was only reminded of the duels she shared with the darkin. Fiora sighed again. There really was no way to escape her thoughts. Even the alcohol couldn't drown them out. The only thing it did do was give her a splitting headache the next morning. Abruptly, Fiora lifted herself off of the couch. Being slothful wasn't beneficial to her in any way at all. The least she could do would at least be to engage in some form of physical activity...

Minutes later, Fiora was swiftly making her way down one of the various hallways in her mansion. Her destination was of course the indoor training area. Without an opponent to spar against, there really wasn't much for her to do there. None the less, Fiora felt compelled to make haste. However, as the duelist swiftly strode through the hallways of her home, she couldn't help but feel... unsettled. It was quiet. Not that it wasn't usually quiet, but it seemed even more silent than it usually did. Fiora slowed her stride to a halt and strained her ears, trying to pick up on the sound of anything. Quizzically, the duelist's eyes darted back and forth, trying to detect something that her ears couldn't. Finally, the duelist took another step forward, reaching down to place a hand on the hilt of her rapier. Subconsciously, her heart rate increased to a steady beat and the skin on her neck tingled.

One step.

Another two.

Pause.

One step-

"Not ba-"

Fiora whirled immediately; drawing and slicing with her rapier in one single fluid motion. Whoever it was that was hiding in the shadows, barely had enough time to leap backwards, narrowly escaping a fatal blow as the rapier swished through the neck of the man's hood. Before the man could recover fully, Fiora lunged again, jabbing her rapier at the man's chest. Roughly, the man grunted and deftly twisted out of the way, simultaneously using a blade strapped to his arm to deflect the strike. _An arm blade?_ Fiora pondered. There were only two people that she knew of that wielded such a weapon. One of which belonged to the country they were at war with.

"Why are you here Talon?!" Fiora demanded angrilly. She leveled her rapier and kept the lethal blade pointed at the Noxian assassin.

"You mean why are _we_ here." Talon replied. On cue, two more figures emerged from both sides of Fiora.

"About time!" a familiarly raucous voice spoke up. "Draven doesn't do subtle!" Fiora shot the obnoxious man a deathly glare, causing Draven to laugh openly in response.

"Draven likes you already!" the executioner exclaimed.

"Enough Draven." The other figure spoke. Fiora didn't need to look in order to know who was standing on her other side. The clack of a wooden cane only confirmed her suspicions.

"Now then, Lady Laurent..." Swain spoke in a dangerous voice, "We have business with you."

"I have no interest in business with you." Fiora spat back caustically. Her rude words earned her a frown from Swain.

"It really would be a lot less... _painful_... if you just cooperated." Swain stated, doing his best to sound encouraging. Defiantly, Fiora didn't respond, instead turning and hostilely pointing her rapier at the grand general.

"You are intruding upon my premise." Fiora finally answered, clearly expressing her hostility to their intrusion upon her home. Swain's expression remained impassive, unfazed by the duelist.

"Then I will make this simple." Swain flicked a finger, motioning for Draven and Talon to restrain her. Patiently, Swain backed a safe distance away from the three fighters, waiting for Fiora to be subdued. However, Fiora was far from being generous enough to give her opponents the first strike. Instead, the duelist instantly assaulted Draven, intending to kill him as quickly as possible.

"Of course the ladies always come to Draven first!" the cocky executioner exclaimed as he hastily backed away from the lethal tip of Fiora's rapier. However, Draven was quickly forced to bite his own tongue and focus on defending himself as Fiora made no attempts to hold back. Besieged by a flurry of slashes and stabs, Draven cringed as Fiora repeatedly slashed sections of his arms and legs. Although he was a good fighter, the best he could do was prevent the lethal strikes from connecting. Fiora danced elegantly, slowly but surely overpowering Draven through her superior training in one on one combat. However, Draven was not a predictable opponent. Abruptly, the executioner took a massive gamble and lunged directly into one of Fiora's slashes. His abrupt reversal of direction and momentum brought him almost directly into Fiora. As a duelist, Fiora had a dead zone in which her slashes did not reach within. That area was one foot radius about her torso. At that position, it was awkward for the duelist to manipulate her blade well. The moment Draven entered the dead zone, he wrapped an arm around the duelist, effectively preventing the duelist from restoring any distance between them. Although she couldn't strike him with her sword, he most definitely could strike her with one of his axes.

"Don't worry honey, Draven will make this quick!" He said with a laugh. Although Fiora was briefly surprised by the random and daring gamble, she quickly analyzed and adapted to her situation. Before Draven could bring an axe crashing into her back, Fiora mercilessly and cruelly brought a knee thundering upwards and into the one thing in her way. Draven's eyes bulged in their sockets as Fiora's knee smashed into his groin. As Fiora shoved the man off of her, Draven made a high pitched wheezing sound, dropping his axes and clutching his crotch as he comically melted to the floor. However, just as Fiora was about to end the man's life with a swift slice to his throat, Talon appeared behind her. Instinctively, Fiora slashed sideways at the assassin. Unfortunately, Talon was small enough and agile enough to duck beneath the strike. The moment the blade passed over him, Talon leapt on top of Fiora, tackling her to the floor. As the pair fell, Talon nimbly pinned Fiora's rapier arm to the ground with a foot and held her against the floor with his blade centimeters away from her throat. Helplessly, Fiora attempted to yank herself free, but was brutally pushed back to the floor by Talon's weapon.

"Move again and I _will_ end your life." Talon spoke in an emotionless and cruel tone. Between her breaths, Fiora found the energy to throw insults at the assassin.

"You smell of dirt, peasant!" Fiora snarled angrily, clearly displeased with her undignified position beneath Talon's blade.

"Now that we are here..." Swain finally spoke up again as he returned to the group. "We can return to the matter at hand." From her position, Fiora glared at the general.

"We are searching for a particular individual. He was last seen here. You know who we speak of, yes?" Swain inquired thoughtfully, pacing about as though he were having a normal conversation with a person who wasn't pinned on the floor against her will. From her position, Fiora's eyes narrowed, but she said nothing.

"A member of an ancient race. A legendary warrior who has changed the course of history multiple times." Swain paused and glanced at the duelist before continuing. "A Darkin. One of only five who still roam this earth."

Instantly, Fiora's eyes widened. _Aatrox was a Darkin?_ she wondered. Swain was quick to pick up on Fiora's surprise and immediately pressed her for more information.

"It seems that you do indeed know who it is that I speak of." Swain concluded. Sharply, the crippled man turned and fixed Fiora with a dangerous and demanding gaze.

"Where."

Fiora refused to reply. After a few seconds of silence, Talon prodded Fiora menacingly with his blade. Fiora closed her eyes and turned away resolutely, refusing to cooperate in any way. Swain sighed as though he was disappointed.

"If you insist then." Swain nodded at Talon. Immediately, the assassin lifted his blade and made a painful cut along Fiora's arm. Blood flowed freely from the wound and the duelist squirmed, writing in pain, but Fiora remained silent, clenching her jaw as she fought back the pain.

"Your resilience is admirable, Fiora, but stubbornness will not delay the inevitable." Swain chided the duelist. Again, Swain nodded at Talon. In response, the assassin raised is blade. However, before the blade could come down again an earsplitting roar erupted from a short distance away.

"rrraaAAAAAHHHHHHHHH! FEAR THE DRAGON'S MIGHT!" Seconds later, there was a gout of scorching flames as a massive dragon smashed through a window and launched a fireball at the Noxians. Swain barely had enough time to summon a magic barrier to block the fireball before it burned everyone to ashes. As the dust settled, the sound of hundreds of booted feet pounding against the ground resounded throughout the mansion. Within seconds, the entire area was swarming with hoards of Demacian guards and soldiers.

"Your time is now, Swain!" Shyvanna snarled hungrily at the general. Flames leaked from her mouth with each word she spoke. Surprisingly enough, Swain seemed neither surprised nor impressed by the sudden onslaught of guards that surrounded them. Turning to Fiora, he spoke one last time.

"It seems as though the Darkin is no longer here. Is he not, Lady Laurent?" The grand general inquired, sounding more like he was stating a fact as opposed to asking a question. Swain chuckled slightly and spoke again without bothering to wait for a response. "I suppose we will be on our way then." With that, Swain flung an arm downward, transforming into his horrid raven form.

"STOP HIM!" Shyvanna howled furiously. Before anyone could react, Swain swooped up his two subordinates and flew out the broken window. By the time the guards rushed to the gaping hole, the trio had already disappeared into the darkness of the night. Unlike the masses of guards around her, Fiora was entirely unfazed by the swiftness of Swain's movements. Such an exit was clearly predicted and planned for by the genius general. Dragging herself to her feet, Fiora clamped her free hand down on her bleeding arm, slowing the flow of blood and allowing the wound to clot. Strangely, Fiora's mind was amazingly clear.

_Treat the wound, then leave._ Fiora told herself. She had a destination to get to as fast as possible. From what she knew of him, there was only one place Aatrox could have gone. It was likely that Swain was already on his way there as well. Fiora grimaced as the pain in her arm briefly shook her off her focus from the task at hand.

_Focus..._ Fiora told herself.

Finally, the duelist drew in a deep, calming breath and set her mind resolutely. There would be no hesitation now. One destination, one goal.

To the frontlines.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Hello again and thank you all for reading. As usual, please leave any comments and suggestions in the reviews section. One more chapter to go here plus the epilogue. Hope you guys have enjoyed the story so far and I hope to see you all in the chapter(s) to come. In advance, I do apologize if the next chapter is slightly delayed. I would like to conclude this story with a well written chapter and it is likely that writing the final chapter will take longer as well as be longer in length. Again, my apologies in advance.

**Q/A**

yoshiboshi123:

There will be other champions present in the final chapter, however there will not be a significant amount of time dedicated to them.

Thank you all for you continued support!


	9. Chapter 9

**Crimson**

Fiora wasted no time in travelling to the front lines. The existence of magic did much to enhance the convenience and speed of travel. Although the teleport arrays were already clogged with sending masses of soldiers to the warfront, Fiora had little trouble forcing or manipulating her way into obtaining passage to the front lines. What annoyed her, however, was the fact that the closest teleport point to the front lines would place her five miles behind the actual warfront. There would still be time wasted while she covered the distance to the battlefield.

"NEXT!" A voice startled Fiora out of her thoughts. The man in charge of the array briefly glanced up at the duelist before quickly motioning for her to step up to the platform. Without a moment's hesitation, Fiora stepped onto the platform and placed her hand on the glowing crystal at middle of the platform. Moments later, the array lit up brightly, emanating light as the device powered up. As the light's intensity grew, Fiora shut her eyes. At the same time, there was a sudden squeezing sensation as though she were being sucked through a tube. Behind her shut eyes, Fiora could feel bright lights whirling around her in a dizzying display of vibrant rainbow colors. Finally, it all stopped. Taking a breath, the duelist opened her eyes again. The scenery around her was vastly different from what it was before. No longer was she in the cramped corridors of the teleport station, instead, she found herself standing in the middle of Demacia's forward command center. As she stepped down from the exit platform, a rough voice quickly called out to the duelist.

"Lady Laurent?! I was unaware that you were called to the lines." Galio spoke, his surprise evident. Fiora turned to glance at the hulking guardian through the corner of her eye.

"I volunteered." Fiora answered dismissively before asking her own question, "When is the next group heading out?"

"The next battalion is getting ready, we need another hour of preparation though." Galio replied. Immediately, Fiora grimaced and clicked her tongue in annoyance.

"I don't have an hour to spare." Fiora muttered angrily to herself. Turning to Galio, she addressed him, "I will be going out ahead. There are-" the duelist broke off abruptly as Galio reached out and spun her around so that she was facing him entirely.

"You seem distressed, Grand Duelist. Is something bothering you?" Galio inquired, clearly concerned. Roughly, the duelist shook off Galio's gentle hand.

"Time is not a luxury I can spare." Fiora answered sharply, fixing Galio with a glare that clearly displayed her displeasure with the physical contact the two momentarily shared.

"I just... Be careful then." Galio finished haltingly, completely not realizing that Fiora had not even answered his question. Before he had even finished speaking, Fiora had already turned away, moving in the direction of the path that led straight to the battlefield. As she swiftly strode away, Fiora thought furiously to herself.

_Distressed? Tch..._

* * *

_One Hour Later_

Five miles was not a distance that was difficult for Fiora to travel. For decades, ever since she was a child, endurance was among the pillars of her daily training. What surprised Fiora was that she never had to travel five miles. Barely after she had travelled three, the overwhelming scent of blood besieged her nostrils along with the sounds of horrid screams of death among the melody of clashing steel. _Something isn't right..._ Fiora thought with uncharacteristic anxiety. Quickening her pace, the duelist pushed forward. As she continued onward, the sounds of battle grew louder and louder. _Strange..._ Fiora thought as she neared the edge of a forest that the path she was following cut neatly through. Ordinarily, the trees and shrubbery would have muted the sounds of steel, making it difficult to hear anything that wasn't within the range of a few hundred meters. Again, the duelist doubled her speed. No sooner than she was a fifty feet from the forest, a Demacian soldier shot out from the trees, running in full fledged terror.

"RUN!" The soldier screamed as he saw Fiora. The panic in his eyes was evident as the man stumbled and tripped out of absolute fear. Slowing to a halt, Fiora snatched the cowardly man by the arm as he attempted to dash past the duelist.

"What are you running from, spineless coward?!" Fiora demanded furiously as she wrenched the man to a stop and threw him to the floor.

"I-I-IT-TT-T-T-T'S A MONSTER!" the man sputtered with spittle spewing out of his mouth as he struggled to voice his words.

"Explain yourself!" Fiora demanded, refusing to let the man continue his flight.

"I-I-IT DOESN'T DIE! WHATEVER WE DO!" The soldier stammered again. He tried to voice more words, but all that came out was indistinguishable gibberish. Furious, Fiora turned to gaze at the edge of the forest. By now, more retreating soldiers emerged from the forest, all of them fleeing from imminent death. Finally, the main regiment of Demacian forces emerged into full view. They quickly and steadily giving up ground as they backed up, their shields still raised towards the enemy. Moving forward, Fiora pushed into the lines and found the highest ranking officer.

"What is happening?" Fiora demanded from the officer. The officer turned to glance at the duelist with eyes that were haunted. His face was unusually pale as fear had clearly gripped his heart. The man didn't speak, he only shook his head slowly, refusing to voice the horrors that he had witnessed. Furious, Fiora pushed past the officer and continued wading through the sea of retreating soldiers. As she progressed, the density of Demacian soldiers decreased. Drawing her rapier, the duelist moved resolutely forward, fearlessly into the foremost ranks of Noxian soldiers.

"Provide me your best!" Fiora called out challengingly. Seconds after she issued her challenge, a bloodthirsty Noxian surged ahead of his squad and lunged at the duelist. Elegantly, Fiora skipped sideways, sweeping her rapier in front of her. The technique deflected the man's strike while preserving his momentum, causing him to fly past the duelist. Within a heartbeat, Fiora whirled and slashed at the man's neck, drawing little resistance as the razor sharp blade sliced cleanly through the man's spinal cord. Fiora quickly returned her attention to the squad before her. Behind them, she could sense a high degree of commotion. None the less, she would have to get past the squad before she could advance to the source.

"Come!" Fiora snarled viciously at the entire squad, "I have no time for the likes of you!" The simple taunt was more than enough to goad the Noxians into engaging the duelist. Like their blood thirsty comrade who lay dead on the floor, they too surged at Fiora with bloodlust burning in their eyes. Impatient, Fiora didn't wait for them. Instead, the duelist lunged towards the nearest Noxian, piercing his heart with a lightning quick jab of her rapier. Without breaking her forward momentum, Fiora inhaled a breath, focused, and surged forth with phenomenal speed. With that, the duelist seemingly vanished into a razor sharp whirlwind, teleporting about in an unpredictable dance of blades. The squad was decimated within seconds. Without even taking a moment to celebrate her victory or even catch her breath, Fiora stood up and marched onward, into the chaos that awaited her. Finally, as Fiora pushed forth, she found the source of the soldiers' fear. Near the front of the lines, where only Demacia's bravest remained engaged in vicious combat, stood none other than the Darkin Blade.

* * *

Fiora unconsciously drew in a sharp breath as her eyes set on Aatrox. Covered in blood, the Darkin appeared more demonic than ever before. Amidst him, a crimson red mist enveloped the air, giving Aatrox what looked like an aura of death. Glancing to the right and left of the Darkin, Fiora quickly took note of the few Demacian heroes that were engaged in their own duels. Garen, Katarina... Talon, Xinzhao... Draven, Vayne... Before Fiora could look for more, her attention was brought back to Aatrox. Before the hulking demon, five brave Demacian soldiers stood, grimly refusing to abandon their comrades and forcing themselves to face the monster. Aatrox didn't wait. Instead, he pounced directly into their spears. Although the soldiers fought valiantly, managing to strike the Darkin several times with their weapons, Aatrox was unhindered by the injuries he sustained. Instead, the Darkin heartlessly rammed his serrated blade into one of the soldiers, completely annihilating the man's head as the weapon created a blend of crushed bones, blood, and organs. Despite still being wounded by the other soldiers around him, Aatrox rampantly turned, grabbed, and gutted another soldier. Raising the impaled man into the air, he cruelly twisted his blade sideways, causing more internal damage to the dying man and causing torrents of blood to gush out of his body. As blood flowed out of the man, Aatrox's blade thirstily drank the crimson liquid, emitting more red mist in the process. Impossibly, Fiora watched as the mist sank into Aatrox's skin, closing the wounds he had just sustained. Now fully healed, the Darkin dumped the drained body on the floor and mercilessly slaughtered two of the remaining soldiers. The final soldier stood, rooted in fear as he watched his comrades die a horrifying death. Taking advantage of his paralysis, a opportunistic Noxian leapt into the fray, attempting to kill the fear struck Demacian. However, to Fiora's surprise, Aatrox lashed out, cutting down the Noxian in mid air and ending his life in a shower of blood. Seeming to have forgotten about the last Demacian soldier, Aatrox turned to the corpse of the Noxian he had just slain and slashed at the body, barbarically dicing the corpse until it was but a steaming pile of flesh on the ground. Satisfied, the possessed Darkin turned his head to the sky and uttered a blood curdling howl to the skies. As abruptly as he had howled, Aatrox suddenly brought both of his hands to his head, clawing frantically as though he were insane. As the Darkin writhed and thrashed about in pain, Fiora got a brief glimpse of his face and eyes. No longer were his eyes crimson, instead, they were a familiar hue of green; a hue of necromantic control. Gritting her teeth, Fiora steeled herself and grimly approached the thrashing Darkin. Fiora was a mere five meters away before Aatrox finally noticed she was standing before him. Briefly, his eyes flickered red and then back to green. Then, baring his teeth, Aatrox turned to face her entirely and roared savagely at the duelist. Unfazed, Fiora swished her rapier around in the air.

"Where is your pride?" Fiora spat, trying to coax the Aatrox she knew into resurfacing. Unable to form words, Aatrox snarled at her and roared again.

"Or is the worthy opponent that I once knew too _weak_ to resist such a spell?" Fiora taunted again. Furiously, Aatrox clawed at his face again. His mouth foaming, Aatrox's eyes flickered a deep, rage-filled blood red before returning back to green.

"Disgrace!" Fiora barked, jabbing insults at Aatrox as it was clearly having an effect on him. Before Fiora could fire more insults, however, Swain himself emerged from the Noxian lines behind Aatrox.

"KILL HER!" Swain ordered menacingly at Aatrox. The grand general raised a hand at Aatrox and muttered a spell, increasing the amount of influence he had over Aatrox. Finally, Aatrox's shoulders slumped in defeat as the necromancy overpowered the vestiges of his will.

"It is useless to try to take him from me now, Lady Laurent... You have lost." Swain said softly as he eyed the duelist. Turning to Aatrox, he spoke one last time.

"Kill her."

Instantly, Aatrox uttered a monstrous roar and lunged at the duelist, cleaving at Fiora with an overhead swing. Without moving from her position, Fiora deflected the strike, causing Aatrox's blade to crash to the floor a foot off to Fiora's side. Bringing his blade back up, Aatrox again took a cleaving swing at Fiora's chest. Easily, FIora stepped backwards out of range of the sloppy swing. Instinctively, Fiora counterattacked, landing a solid slice on Aatrox's chest. Unsurprisingly, the Darkin completely ignored the wound he sustained and instead lashed out at Fiora again, missing as usual as the calculations Aatrox typically put into his strikes was absent without his being control of his own body. Again, Fiora struck Aatrox with a punishing blow to his right arm. Per usual, he ignored the injury. Finally, the duelist backed off, increasing the distance between her and Aatrox. Behind her steel cold gaze, Fiora frowned in disappointment. Not only was Aatrox not matching up to her expectations, his strikes were cold, heartless, and uncalculated. At this rate, Aatrox would not even be a challenge for her abilities. More than that, however, Aatrox simply wasn't himself. Fiora felt no fierce enjoyment of battle from the Darkin, only cold, murderous intent. Nimbly, Fiora dodged to the side again, side stepping another sloppy swing from the raging Darkin. Purely out of instinct, Fiora again counterattacked. As she was not entirely focused on the duel, her habit dictated her to unintentionally take a deadly strike at Aatrox's exposed neck. Fiora's rapier encountered little resistance as the blade made a neat incision on a major artery in Aatrox's neck. Instantly, blood gushed out in torrents from the wound. Staggering backwards, the possessed Darkin made a horrid gurgling sound and thrashed about as he fell to the floor.

"_Merde!_" Fiora swore under her breath, as her heart leapt into her throat. She clearly had no intention of wounding Aatrox in such a vital area. However, just as Fiora was about to move closer, Aatrox staggered drunkenly to his feet. Unable to howl in anger, Aatrox vented his fury by turning around and snatching the nearest Noxian soldier. Indiscriminately, the raging Darkin smashed the man's face into the floor before plunging his sword into the man's heart. Again, the sword drank the blood and the wounds on Aatrox closed. Yet, Aatrox was far too consumed by his own rage to be sated with just one victim. Wrenching his blade out of the corpse, Aatrox jumped on a Demacian soldier and consumed his life as well. Finally, Aatrox turned back to the duelist and let out another rage filled howl. Fully healed, Aatrox barbarically lunged at the duelist. Hesitant to retaliate after wounding Aatrox to such a degree, Fiora backed away, dancing out of the way of Aatrox's lethal cleaves. Her heart still in her throat, Fiora danced away, giving up more and more ground as the Darkin pursued her relentlessly. Upon being unable to keep up with the duelist's speed, Aatrox took to the skies and dived behind Fiora, forcing her to abruptly change her direction. Stumbling slightly out of distraction with her own heart, Fiora did not have enough time to dodge. With no other choices, Fiora raised her raiper and blocked the full force of Aatrox's downward strike. The blow was incredibly heavy, fueled by both momentum and absolute rage. However, as their blades locked together, Fiora's heart only crept further up into her throat. _Dammit..._ Fiora thought as her throat constricted chokingly. At the same time, the duelist felt hot liquid run down the side of her face.

_"Merde!" _ Fiora swore again. _When did he strike me?_ Fiora thought furiously. Finally, she skipped backwards, breaking the contact between her and Aatrox's blades. As she did so, Fiora roughly brought a hand up to her face and wiped the liquid off her face. Glancing down at her hand, Fiora checked how severe the wound was.

Only there was no blood.

Her hand was wet, and yet there was no crimson life smeared across it. Then it hit her. She was _crying_. Breaking her dueling stance, Fiora subconsciously moved into a normal standing position. Hesitantly, the duelist lowered her rapier and brought a trembling hand up to her face, mopping up the tears that streamed uncontrollably down her cheeks. Sniffling, Fiora panted for air, somehow out of breath despite not being physically strained from the duel. _Control! _Fiora chided herself _The enemy is still here..._

_But I can't..._ her heart protested unreasonably.

Fiora's shoulders sagged as she turned her tear stained face to gaze upon Aatrox another time. _Defend yourself!_ Fiora screamed at herself mentally, but her body resolutely refused to move. Before her, Aatrox crouched, flexing his legs in preparation to lunge at the duelist. _No more..._ Fiora's heart told her. Finally, the duelist offered no further protest against her wailing heart. Her will broken, Fiora gazed at Aatrox with tears streaming down her face.

_No more..._ Fiora whispered aloud and let her rapier slide out of her hand. At long last, the duelist closed her eyes, resigned to the call of her heart.

* * *

Aatrox raged. Like an animal trapped within a cage, he barbarically tried to break free of the spell that bound him. Yet, no matter what he tried to force his body to do, it wouldn't listen. Behind his glazed green eyes, Aatrox could only watch helplessly as he himself took swing after swing after swing at the duelist. At first, she dodged his attacks easily. She even struck him repeatedly as her superior speed bested his barbaric, uncalculated swipes. But then, things suddenly changed. Fiora started backing away, hesitant to fight him. Perhaps she couldn't tell, but from Aatrox's view, the duelist was slowly but surely giving ground. Finally, the duelist stopped altogether.

"No!" Aatrox screamed in his brain.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING! FIGHT BACK! DEFEND YOURSELF!" Aatrox roared furiously, even though he knew that Fiora could not hear his thoughts.

"STOP!" Aatrox exploded as he watched Fiora emerge out of her stance and wipe at the tears staining her face.

"STOP!"

Fiora turned and gazed at Aatrox with a face that held evidence of her breaking heart.

"SHIT! STOP!"

Fiora dropped her rapier.

"FUCK! NO! STOP! GOD! WHAT THE HELL!"

Fiora closed her eyes.

For the first time in his centuries of life, Aatrox felt fear. Not fear for his own life, but fear that the one individual that could legitimately stand toe to toe with him and win might die in hands that were not guided of his own will.

Heedlessly, Aatrox's body moved of its own accord and lunged.

"RAHHHHHHHH!" Aatrox raged within the confines of his mental prison. Before him, the times he spent with Fiora flashed before his eyes. The fighting, the duels, even the dancing.

"_IT WILL NOT END LIKE THIS!"_ Aatrox roared. Then, with every ounce of willpower in his mind and then more, Aatrox poured everything into forcing his arm to misplace the strike. If Fiora wouldn't dodge the attack, he would make it miss.

Only... It wasn't enough. Despite his best efforts, Aatrox only managed to shift the blade slightly to his right. Rather than piercing the duelist's heart and ending her life instantly, Aatrox's serrated blade painfully rammed into Fiora's left shoulder. The moment the blade impacted her shoulder, Fiora let out a cry of agony. Seconds later, she felt her back impact the floor as Aatrox's large frame smashed into her, landing them both in a heap on the floor. Dazedly, Fiora's eyes fluttered open and briefly focused on Aatrox's flickering red eyes. Weakly, the duelist blinked and looked into his eyes again. They were still red.

"I..." Fiora gasped and choked, coughing up blood. Reaching up with her free hand, Fiora gently ran her fingers down the side of the Darkin's face. Smiling slightly, she finally mustered the strength to speak.

"Be... Free..." Fiora whispered between struggled breaths of air. Again, the duelist choked and coughed up more blood.

"I..." Fiora said again. Her voice faded to barely even a whisper.

"Love..." Finally, her eyes gently fluttered shut and her breathing slowed. _Peace... At... Last..._ Fiora thought as the pain dulled.

To Aatrox, however, his thoughts were anything but peaceful. The moment his blade made impact with the duelist, the thirsty weapon readily drank the blood seeping out of the wound. Blood which was oozing with Fiora's memories. In a daze, the Darkin watched, stunned as flashes of Fiora's entire life surged through his mind. Fiora as a girl... Fiora with her first rapier... Fiora defeating her father and becoming the Laurent's head... and sure enough, Fiora with him. As he blasted through Fiora's memories of him, Aatrox couldn't help but feel the pangs of regret stab at his ice cold heart. Though he didn't realize it, she too felt the same unsettling call in her chest that Aatrox felt whenever the two were separated from each other. What he did notice? Fiora thought about him. A lot. Almost every minute of every hour since she had kicked him out of her mansion, she spent wondering what it was he was doing or where he was. _Fuck... _Aatrox thought to himself. Finally, the flashes of memories ended.

Aatrox breathed in.

Aatrox breathed out.

At long last, the Darkin opened his blood red crimson eyes. He was still laying on top of the bloodied duelist. Righting himself, Aatrox slowly, ominously, returned to his feet. As he did so, he lifted Fiora's rapier with his free hand, bearing the weapon as almost an homage to the fallen duelist. Turning around, the Darkin fixated the one man responsible for his subjugation with a gaze that expressed absolute fury.

"SWAAAAAAIIIIIINNNNNNN!" Aatrox roared with a howl that surpassed the savagery of any of his previous roars. Instantly, Aatrox began a brisk, unstoppable march towards the grand general. Swain, on the other hand, backed away, frantically gesturing and trying to increase the output of his necromancy spell. Only it had no effect; the bond was broken entirely. Furious, Swain resorted to his raven form. With a flourish of black plumage, Swain launched a barrage of magical spells at the Darkin. Aatrox didn't block them. Instead, he ran straight into them, ignoring everything that damaged him in his quest to seek pure vengeance. Finally, Swain resorted to a binding spell to halt Aatrox's progression. The spell temporarily yanked Aatrox to the floor, binding his legs in a mystical energy. But Aatrox's rage was far too great for the spell to contain. With brute force, Aatrox ripped his legs out of the spell and broke into a head long charge at the grand general. Ten meters away, Aatrox swung his serrated blade, launching a wave of blood that cleared out the remaining ravens in his way. Frantically, Swain attempted to flee by taking to the skies. Only Aatrox too took to the air and brought Swain crashing back down to the earth.

"YOUR DEATH WILL BE SLOW!" Aatrox roared savagely at the crippled man. Without a moment's hesitation, Aatrox rammed his serrated blade into Swain's crippled leg. Instantly, Swain howled in agony as the blade's edges ripped hungrily at his flesh. The sound of the general's screams only made Aatrox want to hurt him more. Ripping the sword out of Swain's leg, Aatrox crippled his other leg by jamming the bloodthirsty weapon into Swain's knee. Foaming at the mouth, Swain's eyes rolled backwards as pain overloaded his body. Finally satisfied with the agony he had caused the general, Aatrox ripped his sword sideways, completely severing Swain's leg. However, just as Aatrox was about to bring his weapon smashing down upon the general's face, he was rudely interrupted by one of Noxus' strongest men. Heroically, Darius charged into the fray. Taking advantage of Aatrox's preoccupation with the general, Darius leapt into the air and brought his axe cleaving downwards in his trade mark guillotine. Aatrox felt a numbing pain course through his body as Darius completely removed Aatrox's arm. With a swift kick, the Hand of Noxus booted Aatrox to the floor.

"General!" Darius yelled hoarsely as he leaned down and grabbed Swain by a shoulder, trying to drag the man to safety. On the floor, Aatrox's rage burned ever brighter. Fueled by anger and blinded by pain, the Darkin shot to his feet and raised Fiora's rapier into the air. Although he was no longer in possession of his serrated weapon, Aatrox could still call upon his Darkin abilities. _MASSSACRE!_ Aatrox raged silently. From within him, Aatrox's body glowed a familiar hue of crimson before blood rose from the puddles about the Darkin. Focusing, Aatrox cloaked the rapier in a haze of blood, increasing the length of the blade. Finally, the Darkin savagely lunged with blinding speed at Darius. Completely focused on saving Swain, Darius didn't see Aatrox coming until it was far too late. With a lightning quick slash, Aatrox savagely ripped the rapier through Darius's throat, drawing a choking gurgle from the man as he collapsed to the floor. Yet Aatrox was blind. Lost to his pain and raging emotions, the Darkin remained unsatisfied with the blood of just one man. There was, however, a battalion of Noxian soldiers before him ripe for harvest.

The Crimson Battle. A fight that would forever be remembered in the history of Valoran. A day in which Noxus lost an entire battalion at the hands of a one armed Darkin.

* * *

**Author's Notes**

Hello, hello my fellow readers, thank you all for taking the time to read this one last chapter of Sharp. Rest assured, the epilogue will be up within a day, so you will not be left hanging as to what has happened.


	10. Chapter 10

**Epilogue**

_One month later..._

A gentle breeze wafted through the open terrace doors in the House of Laurent. It was spring now. The gentle smell of trees and blooming flowers perfumed the air in a gentle medley of scents. Softly, the breeze died down before stirring up again, flowing gently in and out of the room. In doing so, the perfume caressed the face of the one sleeping woman in the room, coaxing her to awaken. Stirring, the woman groaned weakly before turning over in the bed and fluttering her blue eyes open. Finally, she gingerly dragged herself into a sitting position, wincing slightly as pain lanced through her arm. Fiora sighed and brought her uninjured arm up to her face, rubbing the vestiges of sleep out of her eyes. Her mind blissfully blank, Fiora gingerly shifted her legs and slid out of the bed. Her weak legs barely supported the weight of her body as Fiora gingerly shuffled her way over to the open terrace. Atop a table on the terrace sat a small brown paper bag which smelled blissfully of freshly baked scones. It wasn't until Fiora's stomach rumbled that she realized she was absolutely ravenous. Shuffling more, Fiora fumbled with the bag, finally managing to open it with her one good arm. With a scone in hand, Fiora moved to the railing on the terrace, peacefully gazing out over the bustling city below. Finally, the duelist bit into the scone. It was sweet, exquisitely fresh and still warm. Fiora closed her eyes and smiled, savoring the decadence of the small delicacy. Opening her eyes, the duelist brought her mind back into focus. _How long was I gone?_ Fiora wondered privately. Staring out into thin air, the duelist tried to recall what had happened, but the last she could remember was Aatrox lunging towards her. Fiora sighed gently as she recalled the name.

_"Aatrox..."_ Fiora mouthed and a small, fleeting smile passed her face. "_Where are you now..."_ she whispered quietly as she gazed out at the open sky. As she did so, she noticed a glint of steel to her left. Two rapiers. Gingerly, Fiora shuffled along the railing, using her hand to steady herself until she had reached the two blades. Gently lifting the first, Fiora ran an inspecting gaze over the blade's fine steel. It was cleaned and oiled, freshly sharpened to a razor's edge and holding no evidence of being in prior combat. Fiora smiled contentedly as she set the blade back down. _He took care of it..._ Fiora thought to herself with satisfaction. Turning to the next blade, Fiora was slightly surprised to find the rapier sheathed in a strong mahogany case. Sheaths for blades like hers were incredibly hard to find and often had to be custom built. Pushing aside her surprise, Fiora gripped the sheath weakly with her injured left hand and placed her right on the blade's hilt. Instantly, she recognized the blade's touch. Drawing the blade out of the sheath, Fiora found herself holding none other than her black and red Nightraven rapier. Breathlessly, Fiora dropped the sheath out of her left hand and ran her fingers over the engravings on the flat of the blade. Much to her surprise, there were no dents or cracks on either side of the blade. Almost immediately, Fiora brought the blade up to the sunlight, running a scanning gaze across the blade's side. No evidence of damage. Not even a scratch. Finally, the duelist tapped the flat of the blade along the railing of the terrace, producing a small ringing sound as the steel of the rapier reverberated. The blade was whole once more, the cracked core miraculously repaired again. Unable to restrain her joy, Fiora chuckled slightly and swished the blade through the air, momentarily forgetting about the poor condition her body was in. After a few slices, Fiora brought the blade back to her chest, gazing at the black steel with immense satisfaction.

Then... It pulsed. It was weak and faint, but the blade definitely gave off a fleeting crimson red heart beat. Fiora tilted her head slightly, almost surprised at the weapon's sudden animation.

"No damage... Is irreparable..." A hoarse voice spoke softly from behind the duelist. Without turning around, Fiora smiled demurely, content at last to have the one thing she desired. Finally, after a brief moment, the duelist turned and gazed upon the Darkin. Perched atop the roof of the mansion, his severed arm was reattached and cast completely in a thick coat of white plaster. Briefly, Fiora fixed Aatrox with a wry smile before turning back around and gazing out across the city once more.

"How long?" Fiora asked, her voice scratchy from lack of use over an extended period of rest.

"One month." Aatrox replied before he too leaned back and turned his eyes to the expansive and bustling city below. Only his thoughts were far less absent minded as Fiora's were. Closing his eyes, Aatrox briefly recalled the words of the field medic that he had taken Fiora to after he had finished slaughtering the entire Noxian battalion.

_"It is... A miracle to say the least, she should be dead with the amount of blood she has lost..."_

Aatrox's lip twitched slightly. It was no miracle that the duelist survived. Miracles didn't exist. Opening his eyes, Aatrox gazed down at the duelist another time, feeling a mixture of happiness and guilt wash over him. The reality was that the duelist did indeed die, but Aatrox was too selfish to allow the duelist to move on. In a brash decision, Aatrox took his own Darkin blood and infected the duelist with it. It was the very same blood that tethered her to life through the blood's latent abilities. Aatrox guiltily broke his gaze on the duelist.

"_Blood Well..."_ Aatrox muttered mutely. It was a saving grace and yet a curse at the very same time. Aatrox knew that the bloodlust would come all too soon.

"_I should tell her..._" Aatrox thought to himself, but he quickly refuted his own suggestion.

"_No... There will be a better time..."_

Finally, the Darkin descended from his position atop the roof of Fiora's mansion, moving swiftly to join the duelist at her waiting side. Aatrox smiled to himself.

"Yes..._There will be another time..."_

* * *

**Author's**** Notes**

Hello dear readers, thank you for making it all this way until the very end of this story. This has been my most successful story thus far and I must genuinely thank you all for making it so. As I reflect upon this little story, I came across a few things that I would like to share with you all. First off, yes, this is my most successful story. Now this could be a result of me picking a more interesting set of characters to write about, or it could be that my writing has improved. I would like to think that the second is the case, but the reality is probably somewhere between the two. As far as potentially continuing the series, I am on the fence as far as that goes. I am leaving the door open for a possible sequel, but I will not be making any promises at this point.

Finally, I pose a question to my readers who follow all of the works that I write. This is a genuine question and all answers will be taken into heavy consideration. Those of you who read my profile page for updates know that I am currently deciding between writing the final chapter in my Syndra series or writing Eternal Ice (A story about Ashe and Lissandra). I have the plots for both stories completed, and I am leaning towards writing Eternal Ice first. The story line is remarkably lore friendly yet has many dark twists that I feel just makes the story extremely enticing. Leave a review with what you think I should do, or send me a PM, either one works.

Once again, a very big thank you to you the readers who have made this story so successful!

~M


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